REBELS OUT TO SALVAGE SOME PRIDE
CORK CITY are the last League of Ireland side in European competition and a knockout blow is needed against Rosenborg to salvage a disappointing campaign for Premier Division clubs on the continent this summer.
Shamrock Rovers and Derry City were both eliminated in the first round of the Europa League qualifiers against AIK of Stockholm and Dinamo Minsk respectively.
The manner of Dundalk’s 4-0 defeat by AEK Larnaca at the second stage was particularly deflating, so it is left to John Caulfield and his charges to salvage some pride. Had results worked out differently, this could have been Celtic coming to Leeside for the first leg of a Europa League third round qualifier.
Instead, it is the Norwegians who arrive at Turner’s Cross having been dumped out of the Champions League by the Scottish champions. Rosenborg parachuted into this competition, where Cork were waiting after they received a bye following their first-round Champions League exit at the hands of Legia Warsaw.
City are lucky to still be here, though, as this is the first season that teams who bow out at the first hurdle in the Champions League gain a reprieve in the Europa.
It’s something they are keen to make the most of, and while manager Caulfield was unavailable for media duties yesterday, assistant John Cotter (right) hammered that point home.
‘Small margins make a massive difference, so hopefully we can create chances and take one or two of them,’ he said. ‘We are under no illusions that it will be a tough game, and we will have to be at our very best to get something, but we would be confident that, with the crowd behind us and a good atmosphere, we can put on a good show.
‘We will have a full house and Turner’s Cross, as the last game against Legia showed, is a great place to play,’ he said. ‘The atmosphere was brilliant, and the supporters have been superb. It is a great game for us to have and, hopefully, we can go out, play well and get a positive result to take into next week.’
The second leg in Trondheim is where Dundalk came a cropper in extra-time 12 months ago. The key for Cork is to be still in the tie by the time they travel to Norway. Legia were able to take a 1-0 lead home to Poland last month, while in the previous seven home games under Caulfield in European competition they have won just twice.
A clean sheet is vital, a goal of their own a major plus, so it will come as a relief that Graham Cummins ended his seven-game drought against Waterford at the weekend.
‘It’s just instinct. Sometimes you hit the ball and you just know it’s in, then there are times when you are doubting yourself,’ the striker explained.
‘When you are not scoring you get very frustrated, I don’t think of the positives of the past, I’m thinking of the negatives now. You could have six games really good, then six really bad and all you focus on are the negatives.
‘Maybe it’s human nature, you focus on the negatives instead of the positives,’ Cummins added, before discussing how the recent five-goal thumping of Derry City has boosted the confidence of the whole side.
‘In our first European game we doubted ourselves a little going through but we were clinical that night against Derry and that changed the mentality.’