Clancy believes double match weekends contributed to stoppage-time concessions

DOUBLE MATCH WEEKENDS: Easing of the fixture congestion will ease Cork City’s late lapses, in the mind of manager Tim Clancy. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

Easing of the fixture congestion will ease Cork City’s late lapses, in the mind of manager Tim Clancy.

City’s return to the Premier Division has been blighted by relinquishing leads and then shipping goals in the latter stages.

They sit second bottom, the relegation playoff spot, ahead of Friday’s clash against in-form Derry City but their tally of 11 points could be so much more.

City have led in eight of their 14 matches, only to lose 17 points from those positions of supremacy.

Monday’s 3-2 defeat was their seventh game in 21 days and Clancy believes the succession of double match weekends contributed to another damaging stoppage-time concession.

All 10 top-flight teams played twice over the Easter and May long weekends but the Rebels had another tight three-day turnaround due to their refixed game at Shamrock Rovers.

“I think the Friday/Monday turnaround killed us,” contended Clancy.

“Drogheda made six changes to their starting team for last Monday and we didn’t because we are not in that position.

“There’s been a large amount of mileage and minutes in the legs of the same players over the past month, especially because we had to squeeze in an extra game against Rovers.

“We’ve had limited players available and fatigue late on has cost us goals.

“We don’t physically have the bodies to rotate like Drogheda did. We have a lot of talented young players at the club but if they are not ready to be thrown into Premier Division football from the start it can do them more damage than good.

“Experience is good to get but if it’s all negative experience at that age it is not good.” 

City’s proportion of knowhow, mixed with freshness, will be bolstered by the returns of Greg Bolger, Milan Mbeng and Seáni Maguire.

The latter won’t be risked from the start because of the careful approach adopted around his comeback from a hamstring strain but his presence alone, as a substitute, constitutes a timely boost.

While the majority of the division is condensed by six points separating the first eight teams, the widest gap is the six points between City and Waterford.

“There is very little in it,” Clancy stressed. “There is a gap that we want to close before it gets bigger but we can’t be worrying about what everyone else is doing.

“If someone else is winning games, it means another team is losing games as well.

“It’s been an incredible season. You look at Alan Reynolds at Bohemians. Before the match against them last month, there might have been a lot of talk elsewhere about Bohs but they’ve had late winners to win three games and are now being talked about as challenging for the title.

“A few wins can catapult them right up the table, so we need to get a few of them. Derry are flying and I think Tiernan (Lynch) turned the corner after they came from behind to beat us 2-1 up there.” 

Meanwhile, Colin Healy must watch his first game as Kerry FC boss against Treaty United from the Mounthawk Park stand as he serves a carryover suspension.

“Disparaging comments and or actions (carried from tenure at Cork City)” is cited on the FAI suspension list, referring to his barb at match officials after City’s 5-0 defeat at Bohemians. Healy quit as boss the day after stating: “Referees are fucking killing us. Can you not see that?.

“I’m sick of it. It’s going upwards with the crowds but the other way with the referees.”.

Kerry are joint bottom of the First Division with Athlone Town, whose takeover remains in the balance despite the FAI notifying media of a press conference that didn’t take place last week.