Champions expecting a challenge as Maynooth relishing toughest trip to Cork

By Liam Mackey

Maynooth University Town, in the words of manager Barry Prenderville, already “know the road to Cork well” having beaten Rockmount and Blarney United on their way to winning the Intermediate Cup in May and then Everton and Leeds in this year’s FAI Cup.

But this evening will be different. As the boss of the non-league side says, in advance of their FAI Cup Second Round meeting with holders and league champions Cork City at Turner’s Cross: “We’ve played teams from Cork before but this is the Cork team. There’s a bit of difference there!”

While City will be raging hot favourites to progress, Prenderville regards the game as “an opportunity” for his non-league side.

“The only pressure on us is the pressure we put on ourselves,” he says.

We can go and enjoy the occasion because we don’t know when, as a club, we’re going to get another chance to take on this calibre of opposition. So we’re going to do down and embrace the occasion with a strong attitude and mentality and see where it takes us.

“If we’d played it at home maybe it would have been a little bit more of an advantage to us but, look, we enjoyed the Aviva in May when we won the Intermediate Cup final and it will be special playing at Turner’s Cross as well.”

City has already seen off a non-league team in this year’s competition, beating Home Farm 5-1 away in the first round, but only last weekend Maynooth too got the better of the same opposition, beating them 2-0 in the Leinster Senior League.

Paying tribute to Maynooth, City manager John Caulfield says: “Barry Prendeville has done a fantastic job with them and they have progressed very quickly through the leagues over the last number of years.

“Some of their players would have won Collingwood Cups, and they are also the reigning FAI Intermediate Cup holders, so we are well aware of their strengths.

“They are a young, fit, energetic team and they are on the way up.

“But we are the home side and there is an opportunity for us to get to the quarter finals, so I am expecting that we will have a strong team.

“We will make some changes, but the lads are working hard in training all week and I expect that the players who come in will do so with a point to prove. I expect a good game and a top performance from us.”

- The full schedule for tonight’s FAI Cup Second Round is as follows: CIE Ranch v UCD, Greenogue; Cork City v Maynooth University Town, Turner’s Cross; Derry City v St. Patrick’s Athletic, The Brandywell; Drogheda United v Waterford, United Park; Dundalk v Finn Harps, Oriel Park; Galway United v Bohemians, Eamonn Deacy Park and Limerick v Cabinteely, Markets Field.

Meanwhile, in the SSE Airtricity League First Division this evening, Athlone Town play host to Cobh Ramblers.

All tonight’s games kick-off at 7.45pm.