Hoops-Cork postponed

Cork City were left to kick their heels straight back onto their team bus at Tallaght Stadium last night and head home after their EA Sports Cup quarter-final with Shamrock Rovers was postponed just 90 minutes before its scheduled kick-off.

One of the best surfaces in the country, there was little indication of the deluge to come when the grass on the pitch at the Dublin 24 ground was cut at 3pm.

While it had been raining lightly for much of the day in Dublin, heavy downpours from around 4.15pm saw a build up of surface water on the pitch, leaving match referee Paul Tuite no option but to call the game off at around 6.20pm, even though the rain had eased up to a drizzle at that stage and soon stopped completely.

Tuite insisted that the fact there are two UEFA Under-19 Elite Qualifying round games scheduled on the pitch tomorrow (Serbia v Turkey at 2pm and the Republic of Ireland v Iceland at 7pm) was not a consideration in his decision.

Paul Doolin’s Ireland under-19s are also due to play Turkey in Tallaght on Friday night and Serbia play there on Monday.

A new date for the EA Sports Cup tie will be fixed in due course.