Kieran Sadlier restarts cup love affair
Given his long-standing love affair with the FAI Cup, it should probably have come as no surprise that the former Cork City forward Kieran Sadlier chose the FA’s equivalent to kickstart his English league career last night.
The 24-year-old, signed on an 18-month contract by League One Doncaster Rovers last month, was finally eligible to start his career with Grant McCann’s side at Deepdale, his transfer and international clearance having gone through in the opening days of the new year.
Not surprisingly, he was limited to a few minutes cameo but still enjoyed a memorable piece of oneupmanship over his former Cork teammate, and close personal friend, Sean Maguire.
The scarcity of playing time could not dilute Sadlier’s enjoyment at finally being able to play first team football, especially as Rovers pulled off one of the handful of third round upsets in an impressive 3-1 win.
I scored in every round of the FAI Cup last year, even though we lost in the final,” said Sadlier. “And we won it the year before, so it’s been a good competition for me.
“To play in the Aviva twice, even though we lost one of them, was a great experience for me and the last final was actually my last game for the club so that was a nice way to end. Maybe I’ll be a lucky charm for Rovers in the FA Cup this year!”
An extended run may be fanciful thinking, especially given that the priority remains the league and promotion to the Championship.
And given their fine current form, Sadlier concedes he faces a tough task to break into McCann’s starting line-up although he insists that, after starting his English career as a youngster with West Ham, his time in Ireland, first with Sligo and then, so memorably, with Cork has stood him in good stead.
“Going out there, I didn’t have much first team experience - a bit in Scotland, loans with Peterborough and Halifax,” he said.
“So I wanted to go there, toughen up physically, learn the ins and outs of playing in the first team every week and I was the main player on two teams. That was a bonus because it put me under pressure to deliver which is something I thrive on.
“The plan was always to get my way back to England but I was surprised when I went out there how good the standard was.
“Ireland is obviously a small country but it doesn’t get the credit it deserves for some of the players who are there.
“And you look at some of the Irish players here in England, they are quality. Here at Preston, Sean Maguire and Alan Browne are two of the best players in their team. It shows you the very talented players there still are.”
His close friend Maguire also made a cameo appearance, a slightly longer outing than Sadlier enjoyed, and while the result was obviously a disappointment, his return to action is a welcome one, both for player and club.
Preston are struggling with a long injury list of which Maguire, who missed four months last season with a hamstring problem, has been a considerable part.
The 24-year-old suffered another hamstring problem on the eve of this season and, no sooner had he returned for barely a month in the autumn, than he was injured again playing for the Republic against Northern Ireland in November.
His 17-minute outing last night was certainly a rare piece of good news for his manager Alex Neil. “His general fitness is good and it always is because of the amount of running he does in games and training,” said Neil.
The injury is in the same area as last season but it’s a different one so it’s not a chronic problem and, with him, it’s a case of injury prevention as much as anything - keeping an eye on his load so he doesn’t over-do it.
By the time Maguire came on, Preston were already on the verge of exiting, an early John Marquis header having been equalised by Andrew Hughes only for Tom Anderson to restore Rovers’ edge. Mallike Wilks wrapped up the scoring after the latest in a long line of terrible defensive lapses.
It must have made for an interesting conversation after the game.
“He’s one of my best friends,” said Sadlier. “We played together at West Ham, came up together, and then played at Cork.
“He came back to Cork a lot because his girlfriend is there and we’re in regular contact. We even spoke a few times this week before the game.”
There may have been a stony silence between the pair, for a few hours at least, after last night’s events but, over the second half of the league season, their respective clubs will be hoping the strikers have plenty more to say.
Crowe 5; Fisher 5, Huntington 6, Storey 5, Hughes 6; Ledson 6 (Barker 60, 7), Johnson 7, Gallagher 8; Barkhuizen 6, Burke 6 (Browne 45, 6), Nmecha 5 (Maguire 73, 6).
Rudd, Earl, Clarke, Woods.
Lawlor 7; Blair 7, Anderson 6, Butler 6, Andrew 7; Crawford 6 (Rowe 85), Whiteman 7, Kane 7; Wilks 8 (Sadlier 89), Marquis 9, May 7 (Coppinger 64, 7).
Marosi, Horton, Greaves, Lewis.
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