Preview: City vs Galway United

It’s official. Football is back.

Cork City make their Premier Division return on Friday night as Galway United make the trip to Turner's Cross, with City sights set on staying in the division for good. 

The Rebel Army’s pre-season preparations have been positive so far on the results side of things, picking up wins over fellow Premier Division sides such as Waterford and Sligo Rovers, as well as further victories over Treaty United and Kerry.

The last time the teams faced each other was during City’s title-winning 2022 First Division campaign, when current City defender Charlie Lyons netted the winner for Galway in a 2-1 win for the Tribesmen.

Speaking in a press conference in Bishopstown, City boss Tim Clancy commented on the squad’s current injury news:

“We’ve picked up a few niggles, Evan [McLaughlin] and Harry [Nevin] are long-term, and Malik [Dijksteel] is struggling, obviously he came off with an injury during the week against Cobh. Apart from that, we’re really looking forward to tomorrow night, and it's going to be a really good game” 

Clancy also spoke on his team selection ahead of Friday night’s clash:

“I think we’ve got a good squad, plenty of attacking options. We’ve nine who left and eight have come in so we’ve practically the same size squad as last season, and we’re hoping we’ve added some quality to that as well”

“I think with different styles and how teams play, our first game against Galway is going to be completely different to how we play going to Tallaght. There will be fluid formations and team selections through the whole season”

Clancy shared his thoughts on Friday’s opposition:

“Galway were right in the hunt for the title until maybe four or five games left, they were unbelievably efficient, structured and organised, and very hard to play against. They were a threat going forward during the season so we know it's going to be an extremely tough game to start the season off.”

“We’ve done our homework on them, we’ve got footage of them in their games in Spain and other games, so we’ve done the best we can to prepare for the weekend”

At the press conference, City striker Ruairí Keating spoke on Friday’s fixture:

“It's going to be a physical game; it's going to be a battle. It's not going to be easy and they won't give us a second on the ball. We need to be ready, and we've been preparing well. We’ve done our homework, and we’ll be ready when Friday comes.”

“It’s a big game for us, back in the Premier Division. If we can get the win it’ll be brilliant for us to kickstart our season. Every game is going to be tough, so if we can hit the ground running on Friday it’ll be massive for us to boost the confidence.” 

Keating also commented on the importance of home advantage for the coming season:

“We’ve got to make our home stadium a fortress. We don't want teams coming down thinking it'll be an easy game, we want to make it difficult for them. If we can pick up points at home, and not drop many it'll be a massive boost for us.”

Friday’s clash will be officiated by Aaron O’Dowd. Fintan Butler and Chris Campbell will be his assistants, and Rob Hennessey will be the fourth official. 

Make sure to follow the official Cork City FC Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook accounts for matchday content and live game updates!  

Where can I get tickets?

Tickets for the match are on sale from the Club Shop in Douglas Village Shopping Centre, as well as from the Mace shop in Turner's Cross.

You can also pick up your tickets online via TicketCo. We recommend getting your tickets online in advance to beat the queues on matchnight!

How can I watch?

The game will be streamed live on the official League of Ireland streaming platform, LOITV!

An individual match pass costs just €5.