Well what a wet blanket that was! After a solid start away to Sligo we were brought right back down to earth by what was a poor St Pats team. A good move from a set-piece led to an excellent finish by Darragh Ryan which proved to be the difference. A shit atmosphere in the Curragh Road was compounded by the shit on the pitch and what was a hugely hyped up and anticipated even for City fans turned out to be a disappointment, and surprisingly somewhat of a surprise.
Cork City were completely flat up front, lacking talent, pace and imagination. My first impressions of Doolin are worrying. He clearly doesn?t have a grasp of the players in front of him. Why else take of Fahuran Kudozovic and bring on Behan, given the choice I would have taken off the less then impressive Guntars Sigalis and brought on Davin O?Neill. Why surely would he bring on a player that in all honesty isn?t good enough for the League of Ireland premier instead of a new signing that proved to be a revelation last season, playing well against much better teams then the Pats outfit on the pitch Friday last? There was very little of note after the Ryan goal, both sides were poor going forward and the fussy nature of ref made flowing football nigh on impossible, a scuffle that got going after an injury to Gary Rodgers inflicted by Faz got the crowd going briefly, but the next 5 minutes of play soon put an end to the buzz.
As the night got on the weather got progressively worse and perhaps that?s a small excuse for the brand of football that was played. But Doolin should be savvy enough to realise that you must adjust your tactics to fit the club that you?re in. The long ball isn?t something that City are used to and to be honest, Colin Healy and Joe Gamble looked lost in no mans land. Neither Sigalis nor Kudozovic are suited to the long ball (Perhaps why Kudozovic had so many problems after leaving Sligo) and if Doolin is a smart man he?ll find out the players strengths and play to them. Football teams can?t be dictatorships and if Doolin employs the iron fist of long ball football he might just as well pack his bags and go now.
By the way, when did fans ever start booing their own players? Dan Connor got a massive amount of abuse from so called ?supporters? Friday night. Now, I?m the first to condemn his actions and curse his name when playing for opposition teams. But following a good save from a tricky chip shot in the first half a mountain of abuse was hurled at the Waterford native for his failure to catch the ball. I was one of the very few that applauded him and yelled encouragement. Then these idiots starting shouting at me for applauding him and persisted in trying to start a heated debate during the match. During times like this I wonder who the real fans are.
On a lighter note, kudos to those who applauded Darragh Ryan after his goal and on his departure at the end of the match. He had to endure the same pay cuts as the rest of the squad last season and he was more then entitled to find a new club after he left City. I was hoping the Rebel Army would keep him but it wasn?t to be and his respect after the goal was admirable after the antics of a number of footballers over the last few years. Good luck Darragh and all the best at Pats!
Kevin Galvin
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