Cork City v. Derry City: Match Preview

 

Cork City FC v. Derry City FC., League of Ireland Premier Division Round 35, Turner’s Cross, Friday 27^th October 2023, kick-off 7.45pm

 

            It’s the penultimate game of the season and a win for Derry City can clinch European football for 2024. The Candystripes have fallen to third place since their 0-0 draw with Shelbourne last Friday, as St. Pat’s defeated Sligo Rovers in their game-in-hand to go within three points of league leaders Shamrock Rovers – whom they face in a title decider this week.

 

            Derry suffered their third sending off in their last five games in the draw with Shelbourne as Sadou Diallo was dismissed for a late tackle on Shane Farrell – leaving City at a man disadvantage for the best part of seventy minutes. It was a dull evening for the Candystripes who failed to muster a shot on target and had to rely on a couple of fine saves from Brian Maher to get anything out of the tie. A win for Shelbourne would’ve seen them come within two points of Derry going into the last two fixtures.

 

            Derry City have the worst recent form of any team in the top half of the table, picking up just six points from the last five games. Their only win in that time came against UCD in the Brandywell and are scoreless in the last two. Cork City are six points behind Sligo Rovers in eighth place and anything but a win for the Rebels will mean that they must play in the promotion/relegation play-off if they are to avoid the drop. Cork’s recent record doesn’t make for easy reading for their fans either. Similar to Derry, they have picked up just six points from their last five. After beating Sligo Rovers 3-0 in early September, Cork have lost to Shelbourne, Dundalk and St. Pat’s in the league before beating UCD 2-0 last weekend. Both Cities need a turnaround in form in order to finish the season positively.

 

            Derry will be without midfielder Sadou Diallo against Cork after his red card against Shelbourne last week. There do, however, seem to be no new injury concerns for the Candystripes. Patrick McEleney and Jordan McEneff both played for more than half an hour off the bench, whilst Ronan Boyce replaced Paul McMullan on the eightieth minute in order to maintain defensive solidity. Brandon Kavanagh also played the last five minutes. Ciaran Coll was an unused substitute for the third game in the row, whilst Mark Connolly, Sam Todd, Cian Kavanagh and Tadhg Ryan all played no part against Shelbourne. Ben Doherty will make his 100^th appearance for Derry City against Cork City on Friday.

 

            Cork City have both a mostly clean bill of health and a clean suspension record coming into the tie against Derry. Only two Cork players have made over thirty league appearances this season though - centre back Josh Honohan and striker Ruairí Keating. Captain Cian Coleman and midfielder Aaron Bolger have made 29 appearances, whilst former Finn Harps frontman Tunde Owolabi and ex-Celtic midfielder Aaron Bolger have both made over 25. Star of the show in Turner’s Cross this year has undoubtedly been the aforementioned Ruairí Keating. The 28 year old striker, who beat Will Patching to the September Player of the Month award, has netted thirteen league goals this season so far – leaving him joint top of the Premier Division’s scoring chart with Jonathan Afolabi and Chris Forrester. He’ll be in confident form after netting the winner against UCD last week. Eighteen year old midfielder Joe O’Brien Whitmarsh, who also scored last week, is second in Cork’s league scoring charts with just four goals – showing the Rebels’ reliance on Keating. Interestingly, five different goalkeepers have lined out for Cork City in the league this season. Ireland U21 goalkeeper Jimmy Corcoran has made the most appearances with twenty, whilst Altrincham loanee Ollie Bryne has made nine. Tiernan Brooks, who has also played for Ireland’s U21s, suffered an injury on his Cork City debut on loan from Notts County. Tobi Oluwayemi, who is now loan at Admira Wacker from Celtic, started Cork’s first two games of the season – including in the 2-0 loss against Derry in the Brandywell.

           

            That 2-0 win in February was the first of Derry’s three victories over Cork City this season. Colm Whelan scored the winner in a 3-1 win in Turner’s Cross in his return from injury back in May, whilst Tiernan McGinty netted the winner on his Derry City debut against Cork City in late June. The Candystripes will be hoping to finish the season with a 100% record against the Rebels - UCD are the only other team who Derry have beaten in all four meetings this term. Cork City haven’t beaten Derry since October 2018 when ex-City man Barry McNamee netted the opener in a 3-0 win in the Brandywell. The last victory for Cork against Derry in Turner’s Cross came in July of that year when they put five past the Candystripes. Garry Buckley netted twice, whilst former Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney found his first Cork City goal. Current First Division top scorer Ronan Coughlan scored late on, whilst Rochdale midfielder Jimmy Keohane also scored.

 

            With just two games remaining in the 2023 campaign, it’s a disappointment that Derry’s title charge dwindled out just as it was beginning to look possible. Qualification for Europe is paramount for City though. Aside from the fact that it is attractive to prospective new players, the financial impact of going a few rounds into European qualification is significantly more than the prize money for winning the league or cup. With a tricky tie against St. Pat’s in the last game of the season coming up next week, a win against Cork City on Friday is necessary.

 

Pól O’Hare – 25^th October 2023