What a difference three years can make.
24th October 2014 – John Caulfield speaks and apologises to the Cork City supporters in Oriel Park after they lose the Premier Division title decider to Dundalk
8th November 2015 – John Caulfield does the same thing a year later, only it’s following an extra time defeat to the Lilywhites in the FAI Cup final, having conceded the league title
17th October 2016 – Two defeats in two weeks end Cork’s title challenge. Despite revenge in the FAI Cup final against Dundalk, there’s something still missing from Turner’s Cross
Last night, Cork beat Bray Wanderers 2-1. 51 years ago, a magnificent Shamrock Rovers side won their opening 11 Premier Division games (that Rovers side won six Cup titles in a row from '64-'69.) With their victory at the Cross last night, Cork City matched that.
Despite almost three full seasons without domestic honours, Corkonions will tell you that this isn't a surprise.
This is the same Cork City side that went three rounds in the Europa League last season. The side that went away to the Luminous Stadium, the home of KRC Genk, and were a few inches away from taking the lead, before falling 1-0. A 3-1 aggregate defeat sent them out – but fans knew that something special was happening. That Genk side got to the quarter finals, minus Leon Bailey & Wilfried Ndidi- both had featured in the legs against Cork, both are now at greener pastures (Leicester and Leverkusen).
The same Cork City side that beat Dundalk four times last season, and have continued that this year by taking the first two head to heads.
Fast forward to the end of February. The preseason hopes? A league trophy. Nothing else. Twelve years a gap is far too long between league titles for a club of Cork’s size, they say.
They’re on their way. The criticisms from previous years is that ‘they can’t grind out wins’. Victories away in Dalymount Park, Inchicore and Finn Harps nipped that in the bud. Then it was about the penalty count. True, they’ve scored two this season, but that’s out of twenty-eight goals.
Sean Maguire has backed up a 29-goal season with a red hot start to 2017. It’s attracted scouts from Preston, Celtic, and a handful of other second tier English clubs. But the one-man team accusations are gone. Karl Sheppard has six goals to his name, Garry Buckley has found the net four times.
And as for the other end of the pitch. Mark McNulty recently passed 100 consecutive league starts, and 100 clean sheets for the club. Alan Bennett, John Dunleavy and Kevin O’Connor have been there for the heartbreak. Only five goals conceded in eleven games is fixing that
This picture from last night’s game sums up the spirit surrounding Turner’s Cross at the moment.
They all know what it means. They’ve been into the schools with the FAI Cup, they’ve seen the hopeful faces. There’s something different about this year’s side. With Cork GAA just coming out of the doldrums, the public are flocking to see the soccer stars. Over 17,000 fans have filled Turner’s Cross for the last three home games. The names in the schoolyards aren't Messi, Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic. It's Maguire, Dooley, or Sheppard.
Dundalk have lost player after player to a cross-water club. First it was Hoban, and Cork would get closer. They won the league by more. Then it was Towell, same again. Then it was Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan, but Stephen Kenny’s side were still full of confidence as they went on the hunt for a fourth league title in succession.
The widely-heralded greatest side in modern League of Ireland history, the three-in-a-row winners, are now scrambling to keep a finger on hold of their trophy. Back to back defeats to Bray and Galway means that the champions are now closer to the relegation places than they are top spot.
Meanwhile, the lunchtime schoolyard matches down south are still full of names like Rooney, Bale and Suarez. But there’s more and more wanting to be Morrissey, or Beattie, or McNulty between the sticks.
In 2016, the Rebel Army continued a cyclical tradition. In 1998, they won their first FAI Cup. Nine years later in 2007, they brought their second cup back to Leeside, and nine years later, Maguire’s stoppage time winner gave them their third. So their Cup wins go in nines.
Cork City last won their first league in 1993. Twelve years later, they took the title against a Stephen Kenny-managed Derry in 2005.
Twelve years on, on the verge of a history making twelfth straight win at the start of the season, sitting twelve clear after the first series, it’s looking hard for anyone to stop the march of the Rebel Army.
