City's mission possible in Prague

FOR A MOMENT yesterday, it looked like Prague had rolled out the red carpet for Cork City. Literally.

At the front door of the Hotel Praha, on a hill in the city's leafy embassy belt, flags were flying, military top brass stood by and, every few minutes, a black limousine would unload another diplomat.

In the lobby, a string quartet and choral group serenaded the arrivals as, dotted around the place, security men dispensed beady looks. Especially if, like your raving - sorry, roving - reporter, you stood out amid the suits and uniforms by virtue of your less than ambassadorial jeans, t-shirt and black leather jacket ensemble.

It turned out this was a reception to mark the national day of Ukraine, and proceedings were winding down as the Cork City party checked in to considerably less fanfare.

Still, they should be well looked after in their five-star accommodation overlooking Prague Castle. Built in 1981 for the Communist Party elite, the Hotel Praha once hosted iron men from the East like Nicolae Ceaucescu and Erich Honecker but, after the collapse of Communism, it went West with a vengeance. More recent guests have included Johnny Depp, Paul Simon and Alanis Morissette. Even Tom Cruise stayed here while filming Mission Impossible.

Time was when that title would just about encapsulate all you needed to know about the task facing a League of Ireland club in Europe. But not anymore, and especially not where Cork City are concerned.

Following their impressive results in Lithuania and Sweden, the league leaders have arrived for their Uefa Cup game against Slavia Prague with nothing to fear. Unfortunately, Damien Richardson is not with them, the manager having been obliged to stay at home for treatment to a clot on the lung. The welcome news is the prognosis is encouraging, so much so his assistant Dave Hill is hopeful Richardson will be in charge for the return leg at Turner's Cross in a fortnight.

And, according to Hill, Richardson will also have plenty of input into the preparation for tomorrow night's leg at the home of SK Slavia Prague.

"We'll be liaising with each other, talking about tactics, the system they play and how we should approach the game," says the assistant manager. "Damien will pick the 11 - he's still the manager - but, if there's a decision to be made during the game, myself and Phil Harrington will make the call.

"Obviously, Damien is a big loss, but the players are all full-time professionals. They know, and Damien knows, that the way they'll take this is 'we've got to get on with the job'. As in the league game (against Bray) on Friday night when Damien and I asked them to do a professional job and get the three points. And they duly obliged. So, yes, his influence is a big loss but the players must turn that negative into a positive and get Damien the result that means the tie is still there for him in two weeks time when, hopefully, he's back."

Thirty-nine-year-old Hill, whose European experience as a player with Cork and Bohemians included the latter knocking Aberdeen out of the Uefa Cup and winning away to Kaiserslautern in 2001, has had a hectic baptism of fire as stand-in boss. After Richardson took ill on Friday afternoon, Hill oversaw City's 3-0 against Bray Wanderers before flying out to Prague on Saturday to see Slavia draw 1-1 with Plzen in the Czech league. He was back in Cork on Sunday, with just enough time to attend to personal matters, then rejoined the squad for another flight to Prague yesterday.

His weekend spying mission was somewhat distorted by the fact both sides had a man sent off, but Hill says he saw enough of the Prague side to suggest that they are "on a par" with the Djurgardens team which City defeated so brilliantly in the last round.

"It'll be tough enough," he says, of a "very physical" side which favours 4-4-2 but with their wide men pushing up in attacking rather than defensive mode.

But Slavia, who watched Cork's impressive victory over Bray, will know the visitors pose their own potent attacking threat.

"The best form of defence is attack," says Hill. "It's the basis of what we've achieved in the league this year. So why change a formula that's been successful for Cork City this season? Of course, it's a first leg away from home in European competition, so you have to be cautious to the extent that you don't want to be willy-nilly losing goals. You've got to keep the tie alive. Ideally, what you want is an away goal. And that's what we've done so far."

Cork's biggest injury worry still concerns Alan Bennett's hamstring, who flew out with the squad but will be monitored closely in training. Dan Murray and Neale Horgan picked up dead legs in the game against Bray but should be fit for the fray.

Slavia, whose only international representatives are at U-21 level, have a couple of injury and suspension worries themselves, but their biggest concern will be a sluggish start to the domestic season which currently sees them 12th out of 16 in the league.

Also, as a team which is only in the Uefa Cup by dint of being eliminated from the Champions League by Anderlecht, the pressure is on to prove that the competition can be more than a consolation prize - especially with the Cork game acting as a gateway to the glamorous group phase.

For Cork City, the stakes are higher still. "If you look at where we are now, we've gone through two stages of the Uefa Cup and the next stage is the big stage," says Dave Hill. "What the players can achieve would be immense in Irish football history. It's on their doorstep and it's well within their grasp."

Call it mission possible.

Cork City fixtures

CORK CITY'S eircom League Premier Division clash with UCD, originally scheduled for Friday, September 30, has been rescheduled for Sunday, October 2, at Turner's Cross with a 7pm kick-off.

The change was brought about by the Cork City v Slavia Prague UEFA Cup second-leg tie on Thursday, September 29.

Kildare County v Dublin City, scheduled for Saturday, October 8, will now take place on Monday, October 10, at Station Road, Newbridge, kick-off 7.30pm.