Match Preview: City vs Wexford

It’s a top of the table clash at Turner’s Cross on Friday night as league leaders Cork City welcome second place Wexford FC in Men’s First Division action at 7:45pm. Seven points separate the two sides, albeit City have a game in hand following the postponement of the match in Treaty last week. Wexford, meanwhile, beat Athlone 1-0 to leap into second spot and continue their recent run of good form. 

Despite the unforeseen break for the Leesiders, Barry Robson’s men will be aiming to build on their unbeaten start and 100% home record across their opening nine games. The previous two games at the Cross have seen the Rebel Army score four goals in each, the last of which was the dramatic 4-2 turnaround against Kerry on Easter Monday in front of a 5,300-strong crowd.  

Ahead of Friday’s clash, both teams enter in similar form, having taken ten points apiece from their last four matches. It is a fixture that promises goals as the two highest scoring teams in the division meet – especially from a City perspective with Seani Maguire fresh off a hat-trick against Kerry and leading the golden boot race with his tally of eight. On top of that, whilst ranking second for goals scored, and despite having now kept two clean sheets in a row, the Slaneysiders rank sixth in terms of goals conceded (with 13 compared to City’s 6).   

The Manager’s Words: 

Speaking on the eve of the game, Barry Robson reflected on the “frustration” and “disappointment” of last week’s postponed fixture in Limerick but was keen to stress that it had nevertheless been “a very productive week”, especially owing to the Munster Senior Cup semi-final against Kerry which took place on Monday night in Mayfield. A youthful City side won 2-1 against a Kerry team containing five starters from the league match a week previous, thanks to goals from Tom McGrath and Brody Lee. 

Robson mentioned he was given “food for thought” by the encouraging display on Monday, especially by players such as Matt Kiernan, Matthew Murray, Brody Lee, Harry Nevin and AJ Bridge who have been consistently in and around the senior matchday squads. The Scot admitted “between them all they’ve probably not started as many games as they would like, but when I see them the other night performing the way they did that’s good for me.”  

“They’re really chasing getting in that starting team,” he added, “the (senior) players that have been playing are going to have to make sure they keep performing well because these guys are really at it.” 

Looking ahead to Wexford’s arrival on Leeside, the City boss warned that “we know this is probably going to be our most difficult game so far… They’re in a very good run of form, they’ve got a good manager there, some really good players, and (Jake) Doyle is a handful up front.” 

Embracing the challenge, Robson assured that his team were looking forward to the clash and praised both the performances and mentality of his players so far; “When we’ve played at our full intensity we’ve looked a really good side, I think everybody can see that. Our team looks hungry and you’ve got a real chance when your team looks hungry… and if you’re not going to be hungry then you’ll have to sit next to me... but every one of them are.”  

The Opposition View: 

Wexford’s recent results have shown a positive uptick in form following a period of five without a win after their last visit to Cork, a 3-0 opening night success in Cobh. That is their only away victory this season, with their three latest triumphs against Treaty, Bray and Athlone all coming in Ferrycarrig Park.  

Last week they overcame Athlone in treacherous conditions thanks to a spectacular free kick from Adam Verdon, described as “a world class strike worthy of winning any game” by boss Stephen Elliott. That was Verdon’s third goal of the campaign, having arrived from UCD in the off-season alongside 20-year-old Jake Doyle who is currently the team’s top scorer with four.  

Stephen Elliott will be aspiring to finish his second year in charge by getting the Crossabeg club back into the playoffs having missed out on the final day last season after a home loss to Treaty. This ended a positive streak of back-to-back finishes in the playoff spots for a club whose only season in the Premier Division came back in 2016. 

Head-to-Head: 

When these sides met in Ferrycarrig on matchday two, the Rebel Army ran out 4-1 winners thanks to goals from Ruairi Keating, Hans Mpongo and a brace from Maguire. This result was true to form in this fixture; the last time Wexford beat Cork City was back in 2010 and their only ever triumph at the Cross was in a 2008 league cup tie. When the two clubs met in the First Division in 2024, a pair of 1-1 draws were succeeded by 3-1 and 6-0 victories for City.  

It is a sequence Barry Robson’s side will be aiming to uphold on Friday night, knowing that another win is guaranteed to extend the Rebel Army’s lead at the top of the table.