Caulfield: No more signings to help Cork City chase

It was expected some of the billionaire Comer brothers largesse would be earmarked for a Galway splurge.

OLD FRIENDS:   Galway United manager John Caulfield shakes hands with Cork City's manager Colin Healy after the SSE Airtricity first division game at Turner's Cross. Picture; Eddie O'Hare

Galway United’s mission of usurping Cork City for promotion will have to be delivered by the current squad after John Caulfield ruled out further recruits.

Given the Tribsemen remain a point adrift of leaders City and have a game more played, it was expected some of the largesse injected from the takeover by the billionaire Comer brothers would be earmarked for a splurge.

Ex-City boss Caulfield completed his shopping early in this transfer window, adding James Finnerty and Rob Manley – who both started Friday’s scoreless draw at Turner’s Cross – as well as Mark Russell.

“I think we’re done,” he asserted about the panel he’s assembled for the 10-game run-in. “I lost left-back Alex Murphy to Newcastle United, Ronan Manning got injured and Jordan Adeyemo went to Longford Town. They’ve now all been replaced. 

“We’ve a better squad from last season but Colin Healy has improved his Cork squad too. They signed two of Shelbourne’s title-winning team, Ally Gilchrist and Kevin O’Connor, while Louis Britton arrived from Waterford.

“City are favourites but there will be twists. I don’t think any team will win every game. The pressure will be on and from my experience of the league there will be some funny, unexpected results. I know from my own time at City that the easy games never become easy.” 

 Despite being the hunters, Caulfield declared himself satisfied with Friday’s point in the context of the circumstances.

Ed McCarthy – Galway’s matchwinner in their early season win at Cork – endured the opposite emotion on his return by getting sent off after 15 minutes.

His manager was livid at the decision of referee Sean Grant, adamant the controversial call sucked the electricity for the top-of-the-table for the bumper crowd of 6,393.

“Only one person in the ground felt it was a sending-off,” Caulfield fumed. “When McCarthy tripped Cian Bargary on the halfway line, the fourth official and assistant both said yellow card. You need calm players but so has to be the man running the game.

“It ruined a game which had been cracking till that point. The whole game changed because it favoured Cork and we had to sit back and play on the counter.

“That was frustrating because we came here to win the match. Whereas some teams come to Turner’s Cross to sit in, I felt we’d pick an attacking side. You’d take a point when down to 10 men because the games between Cork and Galway this season have been so tight.

“We just have to keep the pressure on by winning games, starting on Friday at Athlone Town, where we’ve struggled in the past.”