O'Donnell confident he can rally the Dundalk troops ahead of trip to Cork

The first round of SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division campaign comes to a close later today Easter Monday when Dundalk make the trip to Turner’s Cross to face Cork City for the first time since 2020.

The Lilywhites and the Rebels were huge rivals for a number of years, as the duo duked it out for the league title for a five year period between 2014 and 2018. They also collided in four FAI Cup Finals during a period were they were the top two sides in the country.

Both sides go into the game desperate for a positive result. City, who were beaten 4-0 by St Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin last Friday night, have not won a game since early March when beat UCD. To date, this is their only win.

Dundalk enter the tie following back-to-back home defeats against Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers, a run of results that leaves Stephen O’Donnell’s team in sixth having been as high as third.

“It’s always a tough game at Turner’s Cross, no matter what Cork’s form is like, but it’s good to get back on the horse so quickly after a defeat" stressed O'Donnell.

"It would’ve been a sore one to sit on the Sligo result for a week, so we have a good opportunity now on Monday to go down there and give a performance.

“We’ve had two setbacks in our last two games so this spell is a challenge for us all. When everything’s plain sailing, it’s easy to be a big personality and to play well or coach well and be full of beans. But the real sign of any person is when they meet setbacks.

“We weren’t silly enough or naive enough to think we weren’t going to have setbacks, but it’s how you react to it. That’s what makes you as a person and, in my mind, there’s no question how we’ll react to it.”

Robbie Benson is suspended for today's game, while John Mountney and Louie Annesley are out. Cameron Elliott and Paul Doyle are doubtful. Patrick Hoban is making good progress after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury, but is also not expected to feature in Cork.

The last competitive meeting between the sides took place at Turner’s Cross in October 2020 when a brace from Patrick Hoban secured Dundalk a 2-0 win while a Cameron Elliott goal settled a pre-season friendly at Abbottstown in early January.