Die-hard City rock Cross

Many might have come to worship at the shrine of Man U but, on a balmy evening when a packed Turner’s Cross was looking its best, the majority would surely have left at the end imbued with much admiration for Tommy Dunne, his players and what Cork City football club as a whole are doing for the game of football on Leeside.

Of course, this was only a friendly match but, nevertheless, the home side were well worth their 2-0 victory. And it tells you all you need to know about the pulling power of one of the most famous clubs in world football that the Manchester United reserve team could help pack out the ground. Will it be repeated when the red shirts of Shelbourne come to play in the domestic league tomorrow night? That, as they say, is another story.

The players in the more famous red shirts might not yet be household names but, among a bumper attendance of 6,059 there was a sprinkling of familiar names. United legends Paul McGrath and Brian McClair were both looking on, while Leeside’s latest sporting hero, boxer Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan — who describes himself as “a big supporter of Cork City” — was invited onto the pitch at half-time to display the WBO International Middleweight belt he won in London earlier this month.