Cork City FC interim Head Coach John Cotter hailed the recent performances of Conor McCarthy when he spoke to the media following Friday night’s Extra.ie FAI Senior Cup game against Cabinteely FC.
Photo: Peadar O’Sullivan
The centre-half has captained the Leesiders in recent games, and Cotter confirmed that will continue as long as the defender wishes.
“It’s something I’ve thought of for a while,” Cotter explained. “A couple of weeks ago when Karl (Sheppard) and (Gary) Buckley, as captain and vice-captain, were missing (suspension), and I gave the captaincy to Conor. I know some people give the captaincy to people to get more out of them, but I gave it to him because he deserved it.”
Injury forced McCarthy off early against Cabinteely on Friday evening but not before grabbing a vital goal – his fifth of the season so far.
“Conor’s 21, he’s a lad that’s come through the Academy. In my time in this position, he’s been brilliant. He’s been unbelievable, and he’s scored again (against Cabinteely). If he is out (injured) now for a little while, he’ll be a massive loss. Conor deserves the captaincy and as long as he’s happy, I was happy for him to keep it.”
City will be in the hat for the second round draw after coming through a penalty shootout against the high-flying First Division side. Cotter, however, has already turned his attention to next week’s SSE Airtricity League encounter against local rivals Waterford.
“We showed character and guts, and hopefully the boys will take some confidence from that,” he added. “It was huge to get through. The supporters deserve a Cup run; we’d love a Cup run. I know the draw’s on Monday but we need to park that now and all of our focus will be into getting ready for Friday.”
