Miller worry for Caulfield
SOCCER
Daire Walsh
WITH just eight days to go until their FAI Cup showpiece against league winners Dundalk, Cork City received something of a scare in Dalymount Park last night, when experienced midfielder Liam Miller was forced out of the action with a calf injury.
City supremo John Caulfield confirmed that this has been a recurring problem for the former Republic of Ireland midfielder, and although he is optimistic that he will be available, he did stress how important it was that everyone was fully fit for the trip to the Aviva Stadium.
“He [Miller] had a bit of a calf strain, and he’s had it on and off for a period of time. We’d be hoping we’ll get him right. You just don’t know with these things, but what we do know is, we need everyone next week to be fully fit going into cup final,” Caulfield said.
“We can’t carry anyone, and I suppose the plus of that, is that Colin [Healy] came back in tonight and got 25 minutes. Which is good, because he’s been out injured for so long.”
In terms of the way they finished their league campaign, Caulfield was delighted that they were able to secure second place in the top-flight table. At one point, he felt that they might slip down to third, but he was thrilled that they were able to produce some excellent results against tough opposition in recent weeks.
“Since the cup semi-final, our form had sort of tapered off, and we hadn’t been at it for a number of weeks. Obviously, we’d been second all season. It looked like we were going to drift out of that position.
“In the last week and a half, we’ve turned in (good performances). Pat’s away, first time winning in Pat’s since I’ve taken over, and Dundalk obviously, we got the draw last week.
“Obviously winning here tonight, which is the first time since I took over that we won here as well. Very competitive game. Very difficult, a real battle,” Caulfield added.