Barry Robson to hand academy stars their chance as Cork City visit Longford

An away trip awaits as Cork City begin to wind down their First Division campaign for 2026. Only four league games remain, with Longford Town hosting the Leesiders this evening at 7.30pm at Bishopsgate.

The talk during the week has centred on a US-based consortium that insist they're interested in pursuing a takeover of the club, which is currently majority-owned by Dermot Usher. 

Shane Lohman and Monarch Sports Partners group have sent a formal letter of intent to acquire the club, with a figure of €3.75m not of interest to Cork City.

City enjoyed a return to form last week as they trounced UCD at home, winning the game 5-1 by the finish, and crucially, it was the first we’d seen of some academy faces since City confirmed their place as champions in the draw with Bray.

Manager Barry Robson confirmed after their win last week that young prospects would be playing a more prominent role in the remaining games.

“We managed to get Tom McGrath his debut,” he said after the win over UCD. “We've got Ike [Manjor-Georgewill] on the pitch again, we've got Joe [Aidoo] on the pitch, we've got Matt Murray some game time and these boys will start to play over the next couple of weeks.

“The young boys have got a lot of work to do still, I think, to come play at this level,” he explained. “And we are going to play a few of them over the next couple of weeks.

They're going to get an opportunity, some of the players. So, go easy on us and don't bring any negativity towards the boys, you've got to help and support them! 

"And I just thought, the next couple of away games we've got, I thought, good time to go and have a look at some of them.” 

Longford find themselves fifth in the table – and in the playoff spots – after their defeat of Finn Harps, though they only lead Athlone in sixth on goal difference, and Kerry sit a mere two points behind the pair in seventh.

It means that each of the remaining four fixtures will be vital for Longford – only five points separate fourth from eighth – and the playoff race remains wide open.

City are favourites anywhere they go in this division but depending on the scale of Robson’s rotation, De Town could have a real chance of getting the three points and bolstering their playoff hopes.

The academy contingent aren't the only ones Robson will be running the rule over in these closing weeks, though.

Promising

Chris N'Sa has started City's last two games since arriving on Leeside, and while the Canadian's introduction came in circumstances far from ideal against Cobh, his display in the win over UCD was promising.

“He's a good player,” Robson remarked. “When we first saw the clips come through of him and we got alerted on him. We watched him.

“And we were like, ‘yeah, this looks like the type that we really want.’ And we managed to get him over for a week, and we knew already,” he said. “We just made sure that we got him in the building. I think he can play as a wing-back. I think he can play as a right-back. And I think he can play as right [centre-back] in a three.

“I think sometimes today his positioning defensively was a bit out of sync, because he's not used to playing in the way we do it. So that takes time and coaching time and game time to get that in him. But I thought he looks a good player.

“He's a good age as well. Good type of boy, he's calm,” Robson explained. “He's the type that we're looking for, especially next season. We're looking for players that know what they're going to be doing in the big leagues. 

They've been around the block a wee bit as well. So he's definitely been that.” 

Fiacre Kelleher’s return from suspension will mark him available for tonight’s clash, but there are still question marks around Charlie Lyons, which leaves the door open for N’Sa.

As for the golden boot race, Ruairí Keating’s hat-trick last time out moved him up to 18 goals, two ahead of Seani Maguire – who scored a brace against UCD – while Hans Mpongo sits third on 14.