Caulfield Content With Linfield Win

Cork City manager John Caulfield admitted he was satisfied with his side’s 1-0 away victory over Linfield in the first leg meeting of their Europa League first round qualifier on Thursday night, while conceding that a second goal late on would certainly have put the tie to bed.

Played out at a damp but undeniably stunning Windsor Park which has undergone recent restructuring and refurbishment, the Rebels tightened their grip on a close game fixed scoreless at the break in order to nudge a priceless away goal via Sean Maguire’s penalty with just under half an hour to go in Belfast.

However, a visible bridge in fitness and stamina over the course of a gruelling 90 minutes took its toll on a tired Linfield side for which this game represented a first competitive fixture in almost two months following the conclusion of the Danske Bank Premiership in May.

City took advantage of a more accommodating playing surface in the second half following a torrential pouring of rain before and during the first period, in order to stroke the ball to-and-fro, finalizing in presentable chances for goalscorer Sean Maguire; Kenny Browne and second half substitute Kevin O’Connor in the game’s latter stages.

Notwithstanding these missed opportunities, City boss Caufield reflected a positive mood after the game – a first win in Europe for a Cork side since a 2-0 defeat of Lithuanian club FK Ekranas in 2005.

“We’re happy”, the manager said. “We felt there was an opportunity to score (tonight) with a very attacking team and we started the game very well. Linfield came back into the game and they got a lot of corners and frees.

“But at half-time we upped the tempo a bit, kept the passing going and then obviously we scored, Seanie (Maguire) had a header off the line, and Roy Carroll made a great save from Kevin O’Connor.”

In a similar vein to St. Patrick’s Athletic’s Tuesday night encounter with Jeunesse Esch of Luxembourg in their first round European qualifier, a League of Ireland side here too failed to grab a relishing second goal that perhaps would have made the return leg in Turners Cross a more straightforward affair in a week’s time.

“I think the game was there for us”, Caulfield continued. “So from that point of view I was (disappointed). I felt that Linfield had done so much chasing in the second half and they had tired. The fact that we were one up; I felt that there was an opportunity to get a second but it wasn’t to be. It’s still in the balance.”

“Maybe I’m being a little bit fussy, but overall it was pleasing to win here and get the away goal. But the tie is still very much up for grabs.”

Captain on the night Greg Bolger appeared in a cast following the game and had developed a limp following a collision with a Linfield player in the first half, but the City boss reassured that his players were in good condition following a physical game.

“Bolger got a knock and we’re looking at it now, so we will probably rest him for a few days. We felt we needed to go for the game. We played an attacking team, we had the option to play (Michael) McSweeney but we decided not to. We went for (Steven) Beattie to see if we could go at them with the overlap.”

After acknowledging the performance of goalkeeper Mark McNulty, who made his 100th consecutive appearance for Cork City in Thursday’s game, the Rebels boss reflected on the club’s recent past and how it makes the present success all the more satisfying for players and fans alike.

“I think in our own campaign we’ve played sixteen games and kept ten clean sheets, so we’ve been quite solid from that point of view.

On McNulty he said, “He is phenomenal and he doesn’t miss games. He had kept another clean sheet tonight, and in the league he has had about seventeen clean sheets in each of the last two seasons which is over half of the games.

“It’s a new club. The club was defunct and was gone only for the supporters in 2009 and 2010. During that era we had to regroup and restart. After getting out of the First Division we weren’t competitive in the Premier Division.

“And all of a sudden over the last three years we have been competing at the top, getting into Europe and that’s where we need to be. That’s where the club needs to be.”