Cork City hold open training session for fans ahead of cup final

Ahead of their FAI Cup final appearance, Cork City Football Club held an open training session at Turner’s Cross on Monday, October 27.

City supporters had the opportunity to see the players put through their paces. This was followed by a meet and greet for fans with the Cork City players and staff.

Éanna Buckley, chief operating officer at Cork City Football Club, told The Echo:“When we got into the cup final, I dusted off the list of things we did for the last time we were in a cup final.

"I started going through everything we did before, what worked and what didn’t work.

“The consensus when we spoke about it internally was that was one of the things that worked really well.

“It only needed a very brief conversation really to say that this was something we really wanted to do.” 

Mr Buckley added that the open training session showcased how accessible City stars such as Seani Maguire are to the supporters of the club.

“One of the great things about our club and our league is that the players are so accessible and so giving of their time.

“You also see it at the Cork City Women’s matches, where the players are so giving of their time to sign autographs after games as well.

“It is something that is very important, I think. You want to get kids rowing in behind the team and get hooked, the same way that we did when we were young.

“Anything that we can do to make that happen is very important and very worthwhile."

On November 9, all roads for City supporters, players and staff alike will lead to the Aviva Stadium and the cup final clash against Shamrock Rovers.

Mr Buckley described there is a mood of excitement and anticipation around Cork city and county ahead of the cup final, as the club seeks to win the FAI Cup for the fifth time in their history.

“The word on the street is that people are finding it hard to get buses, trains are sold out and that kind of a thing.

“Which would all point to a very high level of interest. Going back to 8-10 years ago, there was certainly a lot of interest. But I don’t recall buses being as hard to come by then as it is on this occasion. That all really points to a really high level of interest which is great to see.” 

Mr Buckley added: “It is important to mention as well that a lot of the local leagues in Cork have postponed fixtures or for the Sunday of the cup final, they are not scheduling fixtures to allow people to go.

“It is great to see that support from within the footballing community. We are very appreciative of that as well.” Kieran Sadlier was the hero for Cork City in the 2017 FAI Cup final, scoring the decisive penalty kick in the penalty shootout against Dundalk.

As City hope to bring the cup back to Leeside, Mr Sadlier sent his best wishes to the current crop of Cork City players.

“I would like to wish Cork City all of the very best in the final. Go and make it an amazing day for Cork.”