Cork City look to maintain momentum on the road with Wexford trip

The League of Ireland First Division returns this evening as Cork City travel to the south east to take on Wexford FC at Ferrycarrig Park (7.45pm).

The Leesiders arrive with five wins on the bounce, four clean sheets in a row, and only one goal conceded in that stretch. Whether that form will carry over into tonight’s game remains to be seen – player availability will be a concern – but they’ve got a 12-point buffer at the top of the table.

Whatever the back-to-back defeats to Cobh Ramblers and Kerry created last month, it has been well and truly put to bed because City are flying.

In their last trip to Ferrycarrig Park, Barry Robson’s side put four past Wexford in February. Ruairí Keating, Seani Maguire and Hans Mpongo were all on the scoresheet that evening as Cillian Murphy announced himself to the league with a stellar performance, and City's press strangled any attempt Wexford made to build from the back, ensuring it was one way traffic for almost the entire contest.

At their second meeting back at the Cross, an Mpongo brace either side of Jamie Wynne’s first-half leveller ensured a 2-1 win.

Wexford’s last outing was a troubling 4-0 defeat to Bray Wanderers, which saw Stephen Elliott’s side fall to fifth, three points ahead of Longford Town and clutching the last playoff spot. Prior to that they’ve managed one win in four, defeating 10-man UCD after three defeats against Kerry, Longford Town and Treaty United.

Stephen Elliott's second season in charge has been a mixed bag. Wexford started the campaign brightly – they sat second behind City for a spell in April – but have fallen away considerably since.

Seven wins, four draws and seven defeats from 18 games leaves them fifth on 25 points with a goal difference of minus two, and they're only three points clear of Longford Town in sixth.

Jake Doyle and Mikie Rowe have led the attack with seven and six league goals respectively, while Max Murphy has been very good in his first season after the move from Bray in January. But defensively Wexford have been leaking goals, conceding 25 so far.

The only teams to have leaked more goals than Wexford this season are Treaty United and Finn Harps who lie eighth and tenth, while City – despite feeling like they’re not taking nearly enough chances – have scored the most in the division with 35.

City will be boosted by the return of Fiacre Kelleher from suspension, and will likely have Seani Maguire too. Having both would be a significant boost for Barry Robson’s side, though question marks still hang over Rory Feely, Matthew Kiernan, Josh Fitzpatrick and Harry Nevin, leaving City defensively stretched in particular.

Robson himself has admitted that the squad is too small and injuries have been forcing his hand, but those that come in have delivered. Donal O’Connor has slotted in with ease in defence and looks likely to get more minutes irrespective of absentees, and both AJ Bridge and Niall O’Keeffe have delivered at the right time.

These next few weeks will be precarious for the Leesiders, though. Another injury or two that leaves players sidelined for the medium to long term would put a lot of pressure on the squad to maintain their strong form and the gap at the top.

For that reason alone, it’s imperative that City not only add to the squad, but capitalise on the opportunity to pick up points while they’re still overwhelming favourites in games, and tonight represents an opportunity to do just that.