General
- Saturday July 8th, 2017 @ 15:51
Team News: Cork City Vs St Pat's
St Patrick’s Athletic travel south to face SSE Airtricity League leaders Cork City on Sunday (kick-off 2pm, Turner’s Cross).
The Saints travel to Leeside in good spirits following a 1-0 friendly win over Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian during the week, while the Saints also come into the game off the back of two draws in the their last two league games.
In team news, the Saints will be without the services of Gavin Peers as he recovers from a hamstring injury, while an ankle problem continue to sideline Darren Dennehy however the defender is close to a return to training.
New signings Killian Brennan, Owen Garvan and Jordi Balk come into contention, however the Saints await international clearance for Dutch signing Balk.
Speaking to stpatsfc.com ahead of the game, St Pat's manager Liam Buckley was in bullish form ahead of the game which he expects to be a huge test of his side given Cork’s tremendous form throughout the 2017 season to date.
“Cork have been in tremendous form since the start of the 2017 season. Having won nearly every game in all competitions played to date, we are under no illusions that it will be anything other than a tough game.
"However we know from the last outing both in Richmond Park in the league and earlier in the season in the EA Sports Cup that we can cause them problems. We've got to travel to Turner's Cross with the right mindset and we can follow that up with a performance, we believe we can come away with a result."
The return of fans' favourite Brennan is a boost to the Saints, and speaking to stpatsfc.com, the midfielder admitted that there could be no tougher start to his life back at the club. However, the Drogheda native does not believe that a result is beyond the Saints.
"First game up for me is Cork. As the manager says, it is what it is. Obviously playing the top side is going to be a difficult game, and the fact they are in great form is another reason why it won’t be easy.
"But we’ll travel to Turner’s Cross in good spirits and try to put our stamp on the game and look to keep passing and pressing them. If we can do that, we’ve a chance."
