Mercury to rise as Dundalk FC prepare to welcome Fenn's Cork to Oriel Park

John Gill expects a case of ‘Mercury Rising’ when old foes Dundalk FC and Cork City face-off in another huge SSE Airtricity League Premier Division clash at Oriel Park this Friday (kick-off: 7:45pm).

The fixture was originally postponed in July due to the clubs’ respective European engagements, but Dundalk have unexpectedly been able to fit the new date into a Friday night slot which should ensure a bumper crowd.

While the reigning champions are on course for a fifth title in six years, 2017 league winners Cork certainly won’t have to worry about UEFA competition next season. The Leesiders have had a horror campaign, languishing in the bottom half of the table throughout, while they lost to Luxembourg’s Progrès Niederkorn in the Europa League.

Extra spice has been added ahead of this latest battle of the long-time rivals with the appointment of Neale Fenn as Cork’s third manager of the year, with the former Dundalk forward set for a frosty reception after his deceitful exit from Oriel Park in 2010.

Fenn could still lead Cork to Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup qualification with a sixth-place finish. However, while the top two of the past five seasons have gone their separate ways this year, Gill still predicts a bit of bite.

“You’d expect that Cork will have a little bit of new manager bounceability about them with Fenn going in. He has a totally different style to what has probably been there,” Dundalk’s first-team coach said.

“They’ve had, by their own admission, a poor season, but Cork are still very, very dangerous. I think if you just mention the word Dundalk to any Cork player, their nostrils and the mercury goes up. It goes up with our lads as well because of the rivalry that has been there.

“It will be no different, whether Cork are second in the table or second bottom in the table, the rivalry is there. We want to win the game. I’m sure they’ll be desperate to win the game because of the rivalry that has been there.

“We’ll approach it, again, in the right manner, we’ll prepare properly and we’re looking forward to having them up to Oriel Park.”

Fenn – who, during his short spell with Dundalk, scored in the club’s first European win for almost 30 years – will be in the job less than a fortnight when Friday comes around. But Gill believes Cork will quickly display some of their new coach’s traits.

“Neale Fenn has a philosophy. All managers in this league try to play good football, but he has a particular style of football,” Gill said. “He likes to get the ball down and he likes to play a passing game.

“Whether he has enough time to get that implemented straight away, I don’t think he’ll move too far away from his philosophy. We know what to expect and we’ll be ready for that.”

Dundalk should have been heading to Waterford on Friday for an Extra.ie FAI Cup quarter-final at the RSC, but that has now been pushed back to Monday due to the Blues’ involvement in the aforementioned Scottish Challenge Cup.

That has allowed Oriel Park chiefs to find the perfect place for this outstanding fixture with Cork, but it has also provided another headache for head coach Vinny Perth ahead of the EA SPORTS Cup final at Derry City on Saturday week, September 14.

Gill, though, says Dundalk have the resources to cope with the heavy schedule. “We’re used to playing two games, three games a week now, for the last eight weeks. These players are well accustomed to it, well used to it,” he said.

“You won’t hear us moaning. We’ll have a little bit of a bitch at times. But it means that we’re doing something right and we’re lucky that we have such a quality squad. We have full trust in the squad that we have and the owners have backed us really, really well in that.”

Having wrestled the League and FAI Cup double back from Cork last year, Dundalk have again had the upper hand this season, enjoying a 100 percent record in their three meetings so far.