It’s all about minding the gap now for pacesetters Cork City

On Friday night, the League of Ireland version of the Cork-Kerry rivalry returns.

Fri, 03 May, 2024 - 07:43

Shane Donovan

The Cork-Kerry rivalry has mainstreamed in the GAA realm for decades. It has been also at the forefront of the racing fare at Punchestown this week.

On Friday night, the League of Ireland version of that rivalry returns as Cork City v Kerry FC takes centre stage at Mounthawk Park, in what will be the first meeting of the neighbours on Kerry soil.

City, who are seven clear at the First Division summit, took the spoils on the opening night of the campaign with a two-nil victory at Turner’s Cross.

That was to be the beginning of an unbeaten City run that was yet to cease.

“It’s hard to judge. It was the first night of the season,” City boss Tim Clancy said of their early-season meeting. “Looking at them (Kerry) in recent weeks, they’ve had a really good run there.

“I know they’ve had a couple of results the last few times out, they look very fit, they look organised, very energetic and they carry a big threat as well.”

Despite the threat posed by Kerry, coupled with the added factor of the bumper crowd that is set to descend on the Tralee venue, Clancy’s full focus is internal.

Keep performance levels where they need to be, and maintain their mean defensive streak. Simple as.

“For us travelling down, it’s another game that we’re going to look at as a tough challenge... but if we can perform to our best and be as solid as we have been, we’re looking to try and take three points.

“If you look at their points return now compared to last season, there’s an improvement, they are a lot more competitive, organised, fit,” Clancy said. “It’s not going to be an easy place for anyone to go this season.”

The Rebel Army’s seven-point lead over UCD at the top hasn’t come easy, and the City boss is loath to let it slip given the work that went into establishing it.

That starts on Friday and continues back at Turner’s Cross on Monday against Wexford.

“We’ve spoken about it, as a group, that there is a little bit of a gap there. We need to try and make sure that we don’t slip up before someone else chasing us does.

“We need to try and maintain that gap for as long as possible. It wasn’t easy to get that gap, there was very hard work put in… it’s something we want to try and maintain if not try and improve on.”

Kerry - who reside in 9th, five points clear of basement dwellers Longford Town - come into the fixture on the back of defeats to Bray and Athlone Town, but midfielder Sean McGrath insists they can take confidence from their previous meeting with City.

Sean McGrath of Kerry. Pic: Brendan Moran, Sportsfile

"We want to put in another big performance and hopefully take a positive result from it, in front of a packed-out Mounthawk Park.

"Maybe some see it as a free hit for us given the league positions but when we played them earlier this season there were only a couple of moments in that game where we lost it. "

"We held our own for the majority, two quick goals for them in the first half but other than that, they didn’t tear us apart so that gives us plenty of confidence too."