Cork open defence of Setanta Cup crown

CORK CITY will begin their defence of the Setanta Cup at home to Cliftonville tonight against the backdrop of ongoing difficulties with wages (Turner’s Cross, 7pm).

City boss Paul Doolin said yesterday that the ongoing problems at the club are embarrassing but star midfielder Joe Gamble called for patience last night, possibly dispelling any fears of player action ahead of tonight’s tie.

“We met with Tom Coughlan and he told us he would honour his commitments to the team,” said Gamble.

“We know there has to be a restructuring of the club in terms of budget and so on.”

His manager was less conciliatory however, telling Red FM: “It needs to be clarified what’s happening until the end of the season then after that you might be able to sit down and do something different. But at the moment, it’s just ongoing. It’s embarrassing at the moment, what’s happening.

“People are getting told one thing… it’s too difficult. And as I said, the results will change. It’s very difficult, even for myself and the rest of the staff, it’s mentally draining, it really is.”

On the pitch, Doolin has little to worry about with Timmy Kiely recovering from the flu which caused him to miss the win over Drogheda.

“We have suffered only one defeat in our last six games, and I am quite pleased with our recent form,” Doolin said. “I think with the players we have lost in recent times, Cliftonville will probably come down with the belief that they can pick up a good result, but we are on a decent run ourselves.

“The fact that we are the holders makes the return of the competition even more appealing and we are really looking forward to getting our campaign underway, so I would hope that we can get the competition off to a decent start and claim the three points.”

Doolin’s opposite number Eddie Patterson attended a wedding in Donegal yesterday and this morning faces a 150-mile dash from Moville to south Dublin to link up with his squad who broke their 200-mile journey to the south coast with an overnight stop-over in a south Dublin hotel.

“Obviously I wouldn’t miss such an important game,” said Patterson.

“I hear all this talk about Cork and their off-the-field difficulties but they’ve strung together some good results this season and are lying third in the table behind Bohs and Shamrock Rovers which, given their problems, I think says a lot about them.”

Patterson has a couple of injury doubts with Liam Fleming (twisted knee) and Ciaran Boyd (ankle) both doubtful while Ronan Scannell and Mark Holland are short on match fitness.

Meanwhile in Group Two, the champions of the respective leagues clash at The Oval in Belfast as last year’s beaten finalists Glentoran host Bohemians in the Dubliners’ first-ever appearance in this competition (Setanta Ireland, 5.30pm).

Pat Fenlon watched Glentoran last weekend in their 2-1 defeat of Cliftonville, paying particular heed to their strong attacking partnership of Michael Halliday and Gary Hamilton while describing the recent signing of Keith Gillespie, formerly of Manchester United and Newcastle United as “a great acquisition”.

“He is a fantastic player and signing him shows Glentoran’s intent to build on last year’s success,” Fenlon said.

Bohemians will be without injured defenders Mark Rossiter (shoulder) and Owen Heary (hamstring) for Saturday’s match.