Dirty Cheating $hels v Cork City
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PREVIEW Cork aim to close gap
Cork City will try to inflict a double-whammy on league leaders Shelbourne when they visit Tolka Park this evening – gain revenge for the humbling Cup defeat in front of their home fans a fortnight ago and close the gap between them and the league leaders to just four points.
That Cup outing at Turners Cross, which saw Jason Byrne fire both of Shels’ goals, was the Reds’ last match, their previously scheduled league clash with Bohemians postponed due to their involvement in the Champions League.
So manager Pat Fenlon will hope his side will have benefited from the break in activities when they take the field against the Leesiders this evening.
He can call on a full-strength side and has hinted that his team selection will “be along the same lines” as that which defeated Cork two weeks ago, meaning that Byrne and Ger McCarthy may again be paired in attack.
The depth of Fenlon’s squad can be adequately gauged by the fact that Stephen Geoghegan, Richie Baker and Wes Hoolahan, all left out of the side for that Cup outing, could have to be content for places on the bench again this evening.
Stuart Byrne was called into the side on the right side of midfield to replace Baker last time out, and the former Longford man, who has recovered from a chipped bone in his foot that ruled him out of the first two months of the season, may keep his place in a midfield quartet completed by central men Thomas Morgan and Jim Crawford and left winger Ollie Cahill.
Cork’s fringe pairing of right back Alan Carey and striker Denis Behan may both be ruled out of tonight’s match, although midfielder and captain Greg O’Halloran, who only underwent an operation on his knee two weeks ago, may be back in contention for a place on the bench at least after coming through 45 minutes of a trial game at the weekend. O’Halloran has not played since coming on as a sub during the 4-1 defeat of Longford Town in early July.
Manager Pat Dolan has expressed himself satisfied with the debut performance of former St Patrick’s Athletic man Ryan Casey on the left side of midfield a week ago, and he will keep the role with Colin T. O’Brien and Conor O’Grady continuing in midfield and Kevin Doyle on the right.
Shels go into this game on the back of a solid run of form: of their five games since the midsummer break, they have won three and drawn two, and conceded just one goal in the process.
Cork, on the other hand, have not won since that game against Longford, and have not taken maximum points on their travels since April.
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