Cork City hoping killer B’s will be fit to face Dundalk

Cork City boss John Caulfield is waiting on his ‘three Bs’ as the league leaders head to Oriel Park to face champions Dundalk on Friday night (7.30pm, live on RTÉ2).

City go into the game 15 points clear of their nearest rivals going into the mid-season break.

The Leesiders have some doubts over Alan Bennett, Garry Buckley, and Steven Beattie. Bennett and Buckley missed the 4-1 win over Shamrock Rovers last Friday while Beattie was an unused substitute.

“The three Bs — Benno, Buckley and Beattie — are all being assessed at the moment,” said Caulfield yesterday.

“The fact it is the last game before the break gives us an opportunity that maybe to include one or two but we’re just going to monitor it. In the second half of the season there’s a massive amount of games to come up.”

Striker Seanie Maguire — heavily linked with a move to English Championship side Preston — will be fit to face the league champions after showing no ill-effects from a tough challenge by Shamrock Rovers’ Dave McAllister which saw the Hoops man sent off.

“Seanie’s a tough boy,” said Caulfield. “He’ll be fine.

“Our focus has been really good. It’s a very, very difficult game, we need to be right but we’re looking forward to it.”