Cork City face their second trip to Dublin this week, as they take on Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght on Friday night.
The Rebel Army have three wins from four since John Cotter’s takeover, having won away to UCD on Monday thanks to a goal from academy prospect Cian Bargary. The home side enjoyed a 3-0 win away to Finn Harps on Monday and are level on points with leaders Dundalk at the top of the table. The sides have met once already this season, with Rovers emerging as the victors at Turner’s Cross by three goals to one.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference in Bishopstown, interim manager John Cotter said: “There’s a good atmosphere around the place at the moment, so hopefully we can take that into Friday. We have won three games out of four and kept three clean sheets; the attitude and the character shown by the players has been very pleasing and they have gained confidence from those games.”
“First and foremost, it was about getting confidence back, and results help that. I think it is back and, now that it is back, you can start demanding a bit more from players in certain ways, and that is what we will be looking to do going forward.”
“We have been missing key players over the last few weeks, but we are hopeful that a number of players are close to a return. They are players who have been brilliant over the last few years, which makes the wins we have had over the last few weeks even better; it shows that the other players have stood up to be counted and shown they can do a job.”
“We will set up and defend properly but, with the confidence we have at the moment, we will look to implement our own game plan too. We will look to try and hurt them as well; it won’t be all about defending. Rovers are in a good place at the moment and we know it will be a tough game, but we will go up there with the belief that we can get something out of the game.”
On the injury front, Cotter has a number of doubts heading into the game. Karl Sheppard came off late in the game on Monday, and will be assessed ahead of the game, along with Gearóid Morrissey and Dan Casey, who have both missed the last 2 games. Cian Murphy remains sidelined.
Referee: Robert Harvey
Injury News: Gearoid Morrissey, Karl Sheppard, Dan Casey, Cian Murphy
Suspensions: none
Last game: UCD 0-1 Cork City
Last meeting: Cork City 1-3 Shamrock Rovers
League Form (League, most recent game first): W L W W D
Online Coverage
We will have live online coverage of the game.
Updates will be provided on our official Twitter account (@CorkCityFC), as well as updates of key incidents on our official Facebook page.
We will also have reports and reaction on Soundcloud, Podcast and CorkCityFC.ie
Don’t forget to tune in to our social media channels for all the latest news and exclusive content, and you can use our official hashtag for all of your posts – #CCFC84
Online Coverage
We will have live online coverage of the game.
Updates will be provided on our official Twitter account (@CorkCityFC), as well as updates of key incidents on our official Facebook page.
We will also have reports and reaction on Soundcloud, Podcast and CorkCityFC.ie
Don't forget to tune in to our social media channels for all the latest news and exclusive content, and you can use our official hashtag for all of your posts- #CCFC84
