Euro lessons pay dividends for City

AS top of the table Cork City visit Belfield to take on UCD tonight, manager Damien Richardson attributes their strong start to their season in part to the experience of playing in Europe last year.

"Back when I was playing, Irish teams in Europe would defend for 90 minutes in the hope of keeping the score down and getting a respectable gate back in Ireland," says the City boss. "But now we defend not just for the sake of it but also so that we're ready to create something out of nothing. That's what we did in Lithuania and Sweden but unfortunately not in Prague.

"And that's also what we've done in our last two games, against Drogheda and Bohs. So I see the European experience becoming more of an influence on the team than even I thought it would be. We understand and appreciate the value of patience now. We're not frantic anymore. When I came last season, we dropped points in the first three home games against UCD, Drogheda and Bray Wanderers, and the players were frantic, trying to win the game before it was right to win it.