Longford leave out Cup hero Barrett for clash with Leeds
Barrett has failed to score since his two goals gave Longford their first Cup title when they beat St. Patrick’s Athletic in the final.
His failure to re-discover his marvellous form means manager Alan Matthews will stay with Sean Francis and Dessie Baker up front.
This was the strike-force Longford employed when they scored a 2-1 win in the semi-final of the League Cup against Finn Harps in Ballybofey this week.
Scoring goals has been a hugely difficult task for Longford’s strikers this season. They have scored just 11 in 20 league matches and this explains their lowly league position. Defensively they are as good as the best.
Leeds are a relatively young club, for they fielded an adult team for the first time in 1986. However, they are regarded as a top-class unit, a fact that is supported by their achievement in qualifying for the Cup three times.
Manager Philip McCarthy was delighted when Leeds beat Belgrove in Dublin to qualify for this round. “The lads gave the sort of performance managers dream about,” he said.
Leeds have had 25 players in training - they have two teams competing at junior level and one in the Munster Senior League - and McCarthy is not relishing the task of nominating the 16 who will be on duty against Longford.
Included will be a couple with experience of the National League - Anthony Kenneally and Liam O’Connor played with Cobh Ramblers. The latter’s brother Rory will miss the game, however, as he is on holidays but goalkeeper James McCarthy postponed his annual break for the tie.
Alan Matthews is determined not to allow his players take Leeds for granted. “We will respect them as we would any other opponents,” he said.
“Cork teams are always well organised and difficult to beat and we do not expect Leeds to be any different. We have everything to lose and they have everything to gain.”
Billy Cronin, the manager of Rockmount, another MSL team from Cork, will face the challenge of fitting up to four new signings into his team for their first match of their new season when they play Portmarnock at Rockmount Park tomorrow (Kick off 3pm) in the Cup competition.
Rockmount, winners of the FAI Intermediate Cup just a couple of months ago, regard Portmarnock as a bogey team for they have twice lost to the Dublin side in the competition.
An added complication for manager Cronin is the fact that four of the players who contributed to their Intermediate Cup success last season - Rory Beechinor, Eddie Buckley, Kenneth Hoey and Philip Cunningham will miss the game because they are on holidays. They will also have to play without the experienced Alan Martin, who is serving a suspension.
Cronin was busy during the Summer break, however, and he recruited Shane Hennessy, winner of two Collingwood Cup medals with UCC, Mick Buckley and Eoin Geaney of Cork City’s U-21 squad, and Michael Dempsey, a former Rockmount player who played with Temple United in recent seasons.
“We’ve been training for two weeks and we played the AUL side, Villa, in a practice game this week so we have some preparation done,” said Cronin.
“It is still very early to be looking for your best performance and for that reason we are grateful that we avoided the National League teams, all of whom are very fit at this time.”
Portmarnock manager Gary Knight has three regular players struggling to shake off injuries - Declan Hardy, Brian Rickard and Paul Duffy - and expects a difficult match.
“Rockmount will be chomping at the bit to make sure they do not lose to us a third time,” he said, “and for both clubs it is important that we advance and play a National league team to make this worthwhile.”
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