Barry Robson takes charge of his first League of Ireland fixture as his Cork City side prepare for Treaty United in a highly anticipated season opener in the Rebel County.
The home side goes into the game, on the back of a very positive pre-season, beating Premier Division outfits such as Waterford and Galway United, drawing to St. Patrick’s Athletic and advancing to the Semi-Final of the Munster Senior Cup thanks to their U20 squad led by Colm Bermingham. City’s last game ended in victory for the Rebel Army as they put Kerry FC to bed, beating them 4-1 with most notably 3 of their 4 goals coming from set-pieces, with Captain Fiacre Kelleher earning himself a brace.
Treaty United definitely chose to challenge themselves in pre-season playing the likes of Shamrock Rovers, St.Patrick’s Athletic and Galway United, in which they lost all ties. However, it was not all bad for Barrett’s side as they beat Kerry FC as well as Premier Division outfit Sligo Rovers. Unfortunately for the Limerick club, they exited the Munster Senior Cup immediately following defeat to Cork Amateur club in Ringmahon Rangers.
Key Information:
Kick off: 19:45, Friday February 13th
Where to Watch: LOI TV
Betting Odds: Cork City @1/3, Draw @17/5, Treaty United @6/1
Referee: Daniel Murphy
Team News
Cork City will be missing young striker Charlie Hanover after recently undergoing surgery. Ike Manjor has returned to Cork, following his trial with Manchester United. However, the talented defender will be away in Spain with Ireland’s U17, alongside teammate Tom McGrath.
Tommy Barrett will be without Richkov Boevi for the trip south on Friday Night. Colin Conroy is believed to have a knock and Ben Feeney is a doubt for the season opener.
Treaty will also have 3 new faces available as signings Jevontae Layne, Richard Guevera and Raphael Ohin have been included in the League of Ireland Media Guide.
Key Statistics
The last 4 competitive games between Cork City and Treaty United have ended in draws. The last time there was a winner was on the 22nd of July in 2023, when Cork City won 2-0 in the FAI Cup. The last time there was a winner in the league was on the 12th of August 2022, when Treaty United won 2-0 at the Munster FA Turners Cross Stadium.
Tommy Barrett’s side is a very well-behaved side, Treaty United finished their 2025 First Division campaign being the 4th highest goal-scorers with 50. They also had the fewest amount of yellow cards,red cards and fouls, only picking up 1 red and 61 yellow cards.
Key Players
It will be hard to look past the strike partnership of Seani Maguire and Ruairí Keating, who have already been firing this pre-season. The prolific nature of these 2 and the experience will be evoking fear into the Treaty United back-line. The addition of Hans Mpongo from Finn Harps also gives choice to City in attack, although the 3 have been seen play together in pre-season in an almost triangular shape at the epicentre of the attack.
The Cork City fullbacks will most definitely have to do their homework on 25 year-old winger Mark Byrne. The winger is known for his great ball-control. He is also well able to contribute finding the net 7 times, while assisting 3 times in 2025.
Previous Meetings
4/10/24 – Cork City 1-1 Treaty United
2/8/24 – Treaty United 1-1 Cork City
24/5/24 – Cork City 1-1 Treaty United
22/3/24 – Treaty United 0-0 Cork City