Cork City’s league fate on the line against Shelbourne

Cork City will step out at Turner’s Cross tonight knowing the numbers have almost caught up with them. Anything less than a win against Shelbourne this evening will confirm their relegation from the Premier Division – and even victory may not be enough.

Galway United, 11 points clear with four games to go, need just a single point from their remaining fixtures to make it official. They face Bohemians on Friday, meaning City’s fate could be sealed within the week regardless of what happens here.

But the feeling on Leeside is strangely different now. For all the inevitability around their league position, the mood in the club has shifted in the past seven days. Last Friday’s 3-0 win over St Patrick’s Athletic in the FAI Cup semi-final secured a day out in the Aviva – and it re-energised a club that had felt tired and divided.

Ger Nash has made that sense of unity his mission since taking charge in May, and after the semi-final he finally saw it come to life.

“I think the whole night probably encapsulates Cork City in a lot of ways at the moment,” he said, after beating St Pat’s. What was going on all week outside of the training group in terms of how we prepare the team, we were aware of it and it hurt that we weren't together, that there wasn't that unity that I really feel this club needs.

“The fans, I can't speak highly enough of them, they've been absolutely brilliant to me since I came to the club. The away fans are incredible, the home fans have been brilliant, they were brilliant again tonight.

“The players have been fighting, I keep talking about it and I think we need that unity. It's a bit of a crazy night because at the end it looks like it's fantastic, the fans are on the pitch, but we need that unity because this football club will only go places together.” If that Cup performance represented a glimpse of what Nash is trying to build, tonight is a test of whether that energy can survive in a different setting – one where the stakes are colder.

They have shown in recent weeks they can shift between a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-4-3, pressing with energy when the game opens up. Which they’ll opt for here, time will tell. It will certainly hinge on player availability, with key names Cathal O’Sullivan and Ruairi Keating still missing from the picture.

Evan McLaughlin has been flying in recent weeks, capping that with his second half brace in the spell of three minutes to seal the deal for City against St Pat’s, and they’ll need another big performance from McLaughlin here if they are to avoid relegation until at least Friday, when Galway take on Bohs.

COMFORT

The visitors, meanwhile, arrive with none of City’s anxiety. Joey O’Brien’s Shelbourne sit fourth in the table on 49 points, two ahead of fifth placed Drogheda and one behind Bohs in third. They’ve lost just one of their last five away league games, the most recent of those away fixtures taking place on Friday, as they secured a 1-0 victory against Shamrock Rovers, despite finishing with 10-men following Paddy Barrett’s red card late in the game.

It also means that Shelbourne are coming into this one with only two full days since their last fixture, compared to City’s nine. There’s no reason Cork City can’t pick up the points needed to delay the inevitable, and get something going in preparation for Shamrock Rovers a month from now in the Aviva.

Their own record, at Turner’s Cross – four wins, eight draws, four defeats – shows this one won’t be easy for Shels. City have picked up 20 of their 23 points at home this season.

The difference here, perhaps, is that Nash’s side are now playing with something emotional again, a sense of identity that had gone missing through the long, weary months of spring and summer.

“When we came in, we needed to try and stay up, obviously,” Nash said. “But we also needed to create an identity and bring this club back together a certain way, in my opinion.

“I think the team have bought in. I think the performance of the team after the Sligo game, I think you could see it.” Cork City’s league campaign may be a write-off, but their Cup run will go to the final hurdle. Whether they will get over the line, well, that’s for a months’ time to decide.

And so, as the lights come on at the Cross, the task is simple. Play like a team that still believes.

Relegation might be inevitable. Momentum, though – that’s still there to be kept alive, and they’ve four weeks to prepare.