Cork City look to steady themselves against struggling Finn Harps

The League of Ireland has a funny way of working. Cork City have enjoyed a comfortable two-digit lead over every other team in the First Division despite rarely looking that far ahead of the chasing pack. Results have been remarkably consistent.

Cork City have had very few blips, and that’s the simple reason as to why they’re so far ahead. And now, as they prepare to take on Finn Harps away from home this evening (7.45pm), months of work are at risk of being undone.

They’ve lost their last two league games – and that’s not the first time this has happened – they also suffered back-to-back defeats earlier in the campaign against Cobh Ramblers and Kerry FC.

But what was most concerning about the last two league games was the scoreline, rather than the result. City have lost 4-3 and 5-2, conceding almost as many goals in two as they have in the other 22 league games they’ve played this year.

Perhaps even more bizarrely, is that City weren’t that far off the pace in either defeat. Despite conceding far too many goals in recent games, they have not been way off the mark.

The league table still paints a happy picture – a 14-point lead is good going in any context – but they do need to be careful here.

Finn Harps can be a challenging venue to head to and City found that out on their last visit. Harps held the Leesiders to a 0-0 draw on that evening in April, and at the time, it was only City’s second time dropping points all season.

The one point of relief for City is that Harps' form has declined considerably since then. 

The Ballybofey-based side have only won one of their previous eight league games – one in nine if you factor in the FAI Cup defeat – and have the worst home record of any team in the division with just four wins this year.

It has been a season of patience for Harps, with the emphasis once again on developing young players through the academy. Conor Tourish, Joel Bradley Walsh and Lorenzo Piaia have been among the brighter sparks under Kevin McHugh this season, but the squad lacks any real depth to sustain results, and the second half of the campaign has been troubling.

Top gun

Hans Mpongo returns to Finn Park to face the club he debuted with in the League of Ireland once more, the forward having left Ballybofey for Cork in January after eight goals in 15 appearances for Harps. He was kept quiet on the last visit, and the home crowd will take great pleasure in a repeat of that, but he will be hard to stop.

Mpongo currently sits as the top goalscorer in the First Division with 13 goals scored so far, while Ruairi Keating is behind with 12.

Even with the context of City's injuries, leaky defence and struggle to convert chances, they will be fancied here. 

They remain the title favourites, but a third defeat on the bounce, against the division's worst home side, would turn a wobble into something a little more akin to falling over.

With no FAI Cup to contend with this year following their 4-1 defeat to Shamrock Rovers a couple of weeks ago, Cork City have no excuse not to get back on track and seal promotion to the top flight once again.

They’ve got the quality to reach the Premier Division, that’s never been in doubt, but they cannot afford a slip up this evening.