Cork City’s European ambitions have received a timely boost with news that Liam Murphy has a full strength squad for the visit of Shamrock Rovers to Turner’s Cross tonight, Friday 10th January; kick-off 7:45pm.
Both sides are now locked in a battle for a place in the Intertoto Cup as first and second positions in the table appear to be out of their reach. Rovers currently lie third on 38 points but only lead Cork on goal difference. However Murphy’s side have a game in hand on the Dublin outfit.
Therefore the clash at Turner’s Cross carries huge significance as to who will claim that Intertoto Cup spot. With Shelbourne and Bohs battling it out for the title, it is likely that a UEFA Cup spot, awarded for finishing second, will be claimed by one of those teams.
Greg O’Halloran returns from suspension for Cork while Rovers will be without the services of Luke Dimech. The Maltese international is suspended for Liam Buckley’s men but the Hoops are still confident of collecting all three points.
“People will malign the Intertoto, but just ask St Pat’s how important it is. That’s our main goal, getting third place and we need a win in Cork,” admitted Rovers defender Stephen McGuinness.
However McGuinness has not totally given up on claiming the UEFA Cup place. “All the attention will be on Bohs and Shelbourne but we are only interested in what goes on down in Cork. I still think we have a small chance of securing second place.
“If we win tonight and Shels lose on Sunday, then we are right back in the hunt. Realistically, we are more likely to get into the Intertoto Cup, but we haven’t given up on the UEFA Cup,” he said.
A win for Cork however would all but secure them the Intertoto Cup place as they have that crucial game in hand to fall back on.
