CORK CITY NEED MORE FIREPOWER TO SHOOT DOWN DUNDALK
NOT everything in sport is defined by silverware.
And that thought will have to sustain Cork City fans in the off season. City fans
Matt Le Tissier spent a career at Southampton where the big prizes were always out of reach but you could argue he was still the most electrifying English player of his generation. The Waterford hurling team of the mid noughties was in the shadow of Cork and Kilkenny in terms of All-Irelands but their swaggering style means they’ll be fondly remembered forever. Their off-the-cuff approach cost them Liam McCarthy but won them a chunk of admirers.
Now of course the flipside is that coming up short can define a team. Mayo are forever trying to defy a history of underachievement. In American Football the Buffalo Bills lost four SuperBowls in a row. Their former kicker Scott Norwood has never lived down missing a winning effort in the first of those.
What category do Cork City come under? A team for whom winning shouldn’t define them? Or a group who will be weighed down by their inability to seal the deal?
They’re certainly not winners in raw terms.
City have failed to beat their arch rivals Dundalk in the seven meetings across the past two seasons, during which Stephen Kenny’s side collected back-to-back league titles, a league cup, the Leinster Cup, and last weekend’s FAI Cup.
Dundalk have amassed that haul with aplomb. Richie Towell and Daryl Horgan, the scorer and architect of the cup winner, have been particularly mesmeric and effective.
However, given the shambolic state of affairs before fan-group FORAS rescued City from oblivion when they were demoted to the First Division, or even their middling couple of seasons upon their return to the top flight, they’ve done extremely well since John Caulfield was appointed.
And you certainly couldn’t say City are chokers because they’ve lost to a Dundalk unit that are shaping up to be one of the best League of Ireland teams in the modern era. Like any championship-winning side Dundalk have dug out their share of gritty 1-0 victories and snatched last-gasp goals, but they’ve also delivered some devastating displays with an expansive approach.
They lost last season’s top-scorer Patrick Hoban to a move to England, but his 20 league goals were replaced by Towell catching fire and hitting 25, up from 11 in 2014. The former Celtic trainee, who also played for Hibs, has proved quite the nemesis for City, the sort you love to hate, with his cocky demeanour and extravagant goal celebrations.
And that’s one of the major complaints a portion of the City supporters have had this season. Not that they keep losing to Dundalk thanks to Towell’s goals, but that they haven’t hit the champions’ levels of class.
The stats will show City scored 21 goals less than Dundalk in the league in 2015 league, and 22 goals less than them the year before. Both teams have been lean and mean in defence: Dundalk conceded 24 league goals in ’14, 23 this time out, and for City is was 25 goals left in both seasons.
Whatever way you dress it up, City haven’t scored enough or been attack-minded enough to get the better of Dundalk. You certainly wouldn’t confuse them with Waterford hurlers under Justin McCarthy that’s for sure.
Granted they only needed a draw up in Oriel Park last year to deny the home side glory, but that was as much down to Dundalk staggering with the finishing line in sight, than anything else. Caulfield has managed to turn a middle of the road team into a well-drilled, committed, and motivated one, who leave everything on the field.
You couldn’t say they didn’t give it their all up in the Aviva last weekend, but whether it was their 4-5-1 approach and maybe just the lack of cutting edge in the squad they didn’t create a whole pile. Darren Dennehy had a late effort off the crossbar but that was it really.
It didn’t help that the lively Stuart Beattie, who has been an impressive signing, was cup-tied, or that young gun Danny Morrissey has been plagued with injuries. Yet Karl Sheppard, Billy Dennehy and Mark O’Sullivan never really looked like scoring in the cup final.Dennehy
Firepower is clearly a problem – though again that could be down to the counter-attacking tactics or just the players at Caulfield’s disposal. In 2014 O’Sullivan hit 11 league goals and Dennehy 13 (though five were penalties), while in this year’s league Sheppard shone with 13 goals, despite playing out wide, and O’Sullivan made the official Team of the Year.
The former Avondale striker has been outstanding as a target-man but he often appears isolated. The 4-4-2 formation is no longer trendy, but unless City can sign a Towell-esque attacking midfielder, they’ll need a partner for O’Sullivan in 2016 – or another winger if Sheppard is deployed inside. That is of course if 32-year-old O’Sullivan agrees terms with the club, as the fan favourite is out of contract.
City have been already been linked to St Pat’s tasty midfielder James Chambers and Liam Miller hasn’t provided as much creativity as expected since his recruitment after a spell in Australia.
You can be certain Caulfield is well aware of exactly where he needs to improve his panel. Analyst Lisa Fallon, who also works with Northern Ireland, will play a key part in that regard.
As a club City are the best in the league. Their attendances are the envy of all the rest, and when Turner’s Cross is rocking it can’t be matched. The question is can the team become as formidable?
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