Cork City are looking to address a sharp downturn of form, but they will need to be at their best as they welcome champions Sligo Rovers to Turner's Cross, live in front of the Setanta cameras
Cork City
Things are not well on the Banks of the Lee. Since gaining a morale boosting win against Drogheda United before the mid-season break, The Rebel Army have conceded 6, scored none. Two 3-0 defeats, one to relegation-threatened UCD in the league, and the other to an under-strength Drogheda on Monday in the EA Sports Cup, has seen Tommy Dunne being put under pressure by the fans of the club.
That clean sheet against the Drogs is only Cork's second in the league all season
Speaking to CorkCityFC.ie Dunne knows that Sligo are a very good side:
“In full flow, Sligo are as a good a team as you will get in this league. They have quality in the center of the pitch, they are strong right down the middle of the park and they are also good from set pieces.”
“For us, trying to pick up a result is the single most important thing and we have to get back to trying to play more constructive football. It really is a case of trying to work that extra bit harder to try and get ourselves into the game and into contention to get a result.”
Cork have several injury concerns. Both Murray's (Dan and captain Kevin) are sidelined in defence, alongside Darren Dennehy, who picked up a foot injury in the Drogheda game. Colin Healy and Brian Lenihan are definitely out in the midfield. Danny Morrissey is still out with a hamstring injury, while Daryl Kavanagh is a doubt. New signing Ciaran Kilduff is available however, and will be looking to make a good start to his loan spell Lee side.
Sligo Rovers
Since being defeated by Dundalk in the last week of May, Sligo have picked up 4 wins in all competitions. They had 2 comfortable wins coming off the mid-season break. A 2-0 win in Tolka and a 4-0 thrashing in Thomond Park in the EA Sports Cup, has Sligo on a good run of form. That loss to Dundalk is the Bit'O'Red's only defeat in the League in 13 games!
When these two sides met earlier in the season it went the way of the champions. Goals from Lee Lynch and Anthony Elding gave the home side a 2-0 win (coincidentally also in front of the TV cameras )
Ian Baraclough spoke to sligorovers.com and shut out any rumours about his side overlooking Cork
''Every game is a different game for us. Each one that comes along presents a new challenge and there will be a siege mentality by Cork if you like to try not to concede, to try to keep us out and test us. That is what we have to overcome and we are travelling in a really positive frame of mind. The onus is on us. We went through a bad patch of results. I maintained that we were playing well at times in those games without finding the right finish or making a breakthrough in front of goal. We have come through that now as we were always going to do and it has brought us even closer as a group and determined to achieve as much as we can.''
Sligo will be without Danny Ventre, Raffaele Cretaro and Aaron Greene through injury, and Pascal Millien is away on international duty with Haiti, but they have Anthony Elding back from suspension, and new signing David McMillan is in the squad.
Match Stats!
This
will be the 51st league meeting between Sligo Rovers and Cork City. Cork have the superior record with
28 wins to 13 with 9 draws.
The Bit o’Red have won only two of the last 12 league games with Cork City.
Since Sligo’s return to the Premier Division in 2006 the sides have met 16 times in the league. Cork City have won eight of these ties while Sligo have won only three.
The Bit o' Red's last six trips to Munster have produced clean sheets with three of those being
in Cork
Betting Odds courtesy of Paddy Power
Cork 5/1
Draw 27/10
Sligo 4/7
Prediction: Comfortable win for the Champions. 4-1 Sligo Rovers
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