Cork striker O’Flynn out for Bray clash
Eircom League champions Cork City will be without top striker John O’Flynn again for the visit of Bray Wanderers to Turner’s Cross tonight (7.45pm).
The Cobhman, whose season has been dogged by groin and abductor muscle injuries, struggled in training this week and will sit out the action as Cork face the first of successive home games.
City play Longford Town at home again on this night week.
The league champions are free of suspension tonight, but with O’Flynn ruled out manager Damien Richardson will look to Denis Behan to fill the void in attack in what will probably be the only change from the side that drew 1-1 at UCD.
The other option is to utilise Roy O’Donovan as an out-and-out striker with Neale Fenn and introduce Cillian Lordan to play wide on the right as he did in the Champions League away to Red Star in Belgrade.
“We’ve put a good week’s training behind us and we know and realise the importance of this game,” said Richardson.
“It’s essential that we keep winning our home games in the hope that the top two slip up and we get to close the gap but once again we are looking for a big home support tonight.
“We need the crowd in the ground to create that unique Turner’s Cross atmosphere and spur us on to victory.”
Cork need to win their next two home games starting with Eddie Gormley’s Bray this evening and Longford next week if they are to have any realistic hope of defending their title.
“We will look to win all our games, home and away, but that’s easier said than done as we found out up at UCD last weekend,” said Richardson.
“Hopefully we can take advantage of the backlog of matches that Derry have piling up and we can close the gap at the top.”
Bray, who ended a seven match losing run with a 1-1 draw at Drogheda last week, have doubts over Brian McGovern (pelvis), Stephen Gifford (dead leg), Kieran Ryan (knee) and Philip Keogh (groin) and all are rated doubtful tonight.
Probable teams:
Cork City (4-4-2): Devine; Horgan, Bennett, Murray (capt), Murphy; O’Donovan, O’Brien, Gamble, Woods; Fenn & Behan.
Bray (4-4-2): Rogers; Tresson, Deans, McGovern, Gifford; Fox, Georgescu, Keogh, O’Reilly; Caffrey & Tyrrell.
Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.
