Advantage Cork City as rivalry resumes

Cork City v Dundalk: Before a ball was kicked, Cork City had one over their great rivals Dundalk this season.

It wasn’t the last-gasp FAI Cup final win over the Lillywhites, it wasn’t Dundalk’s loss of player of the year Daryl Horgan. It wasn’t the end of the artificial surface at Oriel Park and it wasn’t City’s re-signing of striker Sean Maguire.

No; it was simply down to a numbers game. The 33-game nature of the League of Ireland means sides play each other three times, with the extra date of home advantage switching annually.