The Atmosphere:
There has been some consensus amongst some fans that there was a “poor atmosphere” at the Celtic v Cork City match that took place in Páirc Uí Chaoimh (PUC). To be that annoying contrarian, I beg to differ on this belief. I thought the atmosphere and crowd was strong and impressive. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it into the stadium in time for Amhrán na bhFhiann or You’ll Never Walk Alone. If I was to give some criticism to the PUC staff, they were quite slow in letting people in with e-tickets.
The match from a Cork City fan’s perspective:
There was some impressive showings by a range of City players. Early promise from new signings and strong showings in both halves. From a first half perspective, where many a debut were given. Fiacre Kelleher, the big new name, was confident in the middle of the back 3. Aside from one mislapse of judgment on the ball later in the first half, he was confident on the ball (much like his brother Caoimhín) and stayed vigilant from a defensive perspective. McGowan’s goal was a real moment of brilliance and hard to stop, so it would be harsh to blame Kelleher for that. Rory Feely was solid also, as he controlled the right side of the back 3. David Odumusu made some solid saves and was once again comfortable on the ball. A particularly impressive showing was from City’s new Striker and #29 – Charlie Lutz. The Englishmen showed promise and plenty of pace, perhaps only missing that little bit of end product. As there was four debuts in the first half, only one was made in the second, as Tipperary native Brody Lee came on at half time. I was really impressed. He showed immense skill and had a huge hand in Murray’s goal that will surely be remembered for years to come. I think it’s promising and shows signs of growing squad depth, that City managed to stay competitive with Celtic in not one but two halves, even if it wasn’t Celtic’s strongest side. On a little side note – it was great to get the opportunity to be able to see Callum McGregor up front in person. What a player!
Conclusion – will we see more of this in the future?
As I said earlier, I really thought this was a momentous occasion. No doubt, fantastic for the local economy also. As I walked through the city, there was sea of green and white and Scottish accents. The city was really vibrant. Perhaps Roy Keane and Denis Irwin could pull some strings to get Manchester United over for a game next year? I definitely think the Cork Super Cup has real potential to elevate the LOI and Cork City FC. Páirc Uí Chaoimh is very much the home of GAA in Cork and arguably Munster as a whole, and that is a tradition that ought to be kept. However, it is a shame for such a stadium to not be able to broaden its horizons beyond the sliotar or Gaelic football. Let’s hope this can be a thing we see more of in the future! #CorcaighAbú