By Gerard Mulreaney (@gerardmulreaney)
Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley is really looking forward to heading down to Cork on Monday night to see if his side can fully test themselves in the cauldron that is Turners Cross.
Last season the hoops went to the Cross, and in front of a large crowd, take the lead, only for the red mist to descend on David McAllister. After that there was only one winner as City went on to win 4-1.
The Hoops boss has a couple of injury concerns, “We’ll have to have a look at Ethan Boyle, he got a bad knock on his ankle on Friday. We need to assess Greg Bolger as well. He’s getting there, he’s getting back.”
This time, Cork come into the game after a defeat to Dundalk, while Rovers are on a high after two big wins over Bray Wanderers and Derry City. The Hoops have scored 12 goals, only conceding one. Midfielder Graham Burke had an outstanding night on Friday getting four goals. Bradley was delighted for him, “It’s a great achievement for Graham personally, to score four goals, and I’m delighted for him. I’ve seen him play better all round games to be honest. Last year he’d come off the pitch having done everything but score and this year he’s adding goals to his personal game which is a big positive for us.”
Bradley knows there will be a large crowd in Cork, and he also knows John Caulfield ‘s side are quality, “Cork have some good players, they’re a good side but we’ll go there full of confidence and ready to go and try and win the game. We’ve got to go and play the way we play. We know they’re the champions and they did the double last year, it’ll be a big crowd and a tough game but we believe that we can go anywhere and cause problems and create chances. Tomorrow night will be no different.”
Speaking about the game last season Bradley said discipline is also important, “Last year at Turners Cross we could have gone 2-0 up but we then get a man sent off and concede within 5 minutes. So the scoreline suggested it was an easy night’s work for them but when you actually look at the game we did well for large parts of it until the sending off. We’re going to need to be disciplined again tomorrow, like we have been this year and keep eleven players on the pitch. It’s about us sticking to our game plan.”
The players are also looking forward to playing in front of a packed Turners Cross. “I think last year down there was a turning point for us to see the crowd, first of all the turnout and second of all the crowd were brilliant afterwards with that [4-1] scoreline. When the players went out to warm down they saw it, they felt it and they spoke about it after the game on the way home. It was great for the players to see that,” said Bradley
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