2015 Cork City F.C. season

Cork City FC

2015 season
Chairman	Pat Lyons
Manager	John Culfield
Stadium	Turners Cross (7,485)
League of Ireland	2nd
FAI Cup	Runners-up
League of Ireland Cup	Quarter Final
Munster Senior Cup	Semi Final
Top goalscorer	League: Karl Sheppard - 13 All: Mark O Sullivan - 16
Highest home attendance	6,900 - Cork City v Dundalk (24 April 2015)
Lowest home attendance	2,011 - Cork City v Longford Town (20 April 2015)
Home colours Away colours
← 2014 2016 →

The 2015 League of Ireland season was Cork City's 31st year competing in the League of Ireland and 4th consecutive season in the Premier Division. It was Manager, John Caulfield's 2nd year in charge of the Rebel Army after a very successful 2014 season which saw Cork City finish 2nd in the league. The Leesiders equaled their final league position from 2014, again losing out to 2015 Champions Dundalk. Cork City also reached the 2015 FAI Cup Final, but again Dundalk proved too strong, beating City 1-0 AET.

Players

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Mark McNulty 2 DF John Kavanagh 3 DF Alan Bennett 4 DF John Dunleavy (captain) 5 DF Darren Dennehy 6 DF Dan Murray 7 MF Colin Healy 8 MF Gavan Holohan 9 FW John O'Flynn 11 MF Ross Gaynor 13 GK Kevin O'Brien 14 MF Kevin O'Connor 15 FW Danny Morrissey

No. Position Player 16 GK Alan Smith 17 FW Connor Ellis 18 DF Michael McSweeney 19 FW Karl Sheppard 20 MF Billy Dennehy 21 MF Steven Beattie 22 MF Liam Miller 23 FW Mark O'Sullivan 25 DF Conor McCarthy 26 MF Garry Buckley 27 MF Danny O'Connell 30 MF Liam Kearney 32 DF Stephen Folan

Coaching staff

As of 1 February 2015 the coaching staff includes:^[1]

Position	Name
Manager	John Caulfield
Assistant Manager	John Cotter
First Team Coach	Billy Woods
Goalkeeping Coach	Phil Harrington
Chairman	Pat Lyons
Chief Executive	Tim Murphy
Head of Youth Development	Stuart Ashton
U-19 Manager	Paul Bowdren & Stuart Ashton
Club Doctor	Dr. Gerard Murphy
Club Physio	Gráinne Desmond

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Country	Position	Signed from
January 2015	Karl Sheppard		Forward	Shamrock Rovers
January 2015	Gavan Holohan		Midfielder	Drogheda Utd
January 2015	Dave Mulcahy		Midfielder	Bohemians
January 2015	Kieran Djilali		Forward	Sligo Rovers
January 2015	Liam Miller		Midfielder	Melbourne City
February 2015	Alan Bennett		Defender	AFC Wimbledon
February 2015	Alan Smith		Goalkeeper	Free Agent
April 2015	Kevin O Connor		Defender	Waterford
July 2015	Danny O Connell		Forward	Carrigaline
July 2015	Steven Beattie		Forward	Sligo Rovers
July 2015	Stephen Folan		Defender	Sligo Rovers

Out

Date	Player	Country	Position	Sold to
January 2015	Cillian Morrisson		Forward	Derry City
January 2015	David O Leary		Midfielder	Galway
January 2015	Gearóid Morrissey		Midfielder	Cambridge Utd
February 2015	Dave Mulcahy		Midfielder	Bohemians
February 2015	Darren Murphy		Midfielder	Cobh Ramblers
July 2015	Josh O Shea		Midfielder	Free Agent
July 2015	Kieran Djilali		Forward	Free Agent
July 2015	Rob Lehane		Forward	Sligo Rovers (Loan)

Friendlies

Pre-Season

Cork City v PSC Soccer Academy

25 January	Cork City	1 - 0	PSC Soccer Academy	O Shea Park, Blarney
13:00	Sheppard

Roscommon and District League v Cork City

30 January	Roscommon and District League	1 - 4	Cork City	Roscommon League Grounds, Lecarrow
19:30			S. Murphy Gaynor Sheppard Holohan

Finn Harps v Cork City

31 January	Finn Harps	1 - 0	Cork City	Roscommon League grounds, Lecarrow
11:00

Athlone Town FC v Cork City

31 January	Athlone Town FC	3 - 0	Cork City	Athlone Town Stadium
14:30

Skibbereen AFC v Cork City

11 February	Skibbereen AFC	0 - 3	Cork City	Skibbereen
19:30			D. Dennehy O'Donovan C. Ellis

St. Mary's v Cork City

19 February	St. Mary's	1 - 3	Cork City	Kilcully
	O Sullivan  44'		Gaynor  34' O Flynn  74' Dunleavy  90'

Cork City v Waterford

23 February	Cork City	0 - 0	Waterford	CIT
19:45

Cobh Ramblers v Cork City

25 February	Cobh Ramblers	0 - 0	Cork City	St Colman's Park
20:00

Mid-Season

Cork City v Liverpool XI

11 July	Cork City	0 - 2	Liverpool XI	Turners Cross
19:45			Gomes  16' Dianda  71'	Attendance: 4,355

League

Fixtures and Results

Sligo Rovers v Cork City

7 March 1	Sligo Rovers	1 - 1	Cork City	The Showgrounds
19:45	Beattie  85'		Gaynor  90+6'	Attendance: 3,082 Referee: R. Rogers

Cork City v Limerick

13 March 2	Cork City	5 - 0	Limerick	Turners Cross
19:45	D. Dennehy  4'  84' B. Dennehy  17'  51' Holohan  45'			Attendance: 4,817

Shamrock Rovers v Cork City

20 March 3	Shamrock Rovers	0 - 0	Cork City	Tallaght Stadium
19:45

Cork City v Galway

24 March 4	Cork City	2 - 0	Galway	Turners Cross
19:45	Sheppard  35' Bennett  62'			Attendance: 2,934

Bray Wanderers v Cork City

28 March 5	Bray Wanderers	0 - 1	Cork City	Carlisle Grounds
17:45			Djilali  86'

Cork City v Derry City

3 April 6	Cork City	3 - 0	Derry City	Turners Cross
19:45	O Flynn  16' Sheppard  43'  68'			Attendance: 5,104

St Pats v Cork City

10 April 7	St Pats	0 - 0	Cork City	Richmond Park
19:45				Attendance: 1,728 Referee: D Tomney

Drogheda United v Cork City

17 April 8	Drogheda United	1 - 2	Cork City	United Park
19:45	Buckley  77'		B. Dennehy  17' Djilali  19'

Cork City v Longford Town

20 April 9	Cork City	2 - 0	Longford Town	Turners Cross
19:45	Buckley  42' Healy  67'			Attendance: 2,511

Cork City v Dundalk

24 April 10	Cork City	1 - 2	Dundalk	Turners Cross
19:35	B. Dennehy  32'		Towell  45+1'  47'	Attendance: 6,900 Referee: R Rogers

Bohemians v Cork City

1 May 11	Bohemians	1 - 1	Cork City	Dalymount Park
19:45	Evans  84'		O Sullivan  2'	Attendance: 1,641 Referee: P Sutton

Cork City v Sligo Rovers

8 May 12	Cork City	3 - 2	Sligo Rovers	Turners Cross
19:45	Sheppard  1', 29' O Sullivan  88'		Russel  38' Devaney  75'	Attendance: 2,882 Referee: R. Harvey

Cork City v Drogheda United

11 May 19	Cork City	4 - 1	Drogheda United	Turners Cross
19:45	B Dennehy  54', 83', 90+3' Sheppard  65'		Duffy  9'	Attendance: 2,142 Referee: P McLaughlin

Limerick v Cork City

16 May 13	Limerick	0 - 1	Cork City	Jackman Park
19:45			Sheppard  22'	Attendance: 605 Referee: N Doyle

Cork City v Shamrock Rovers

22 May 14	Cork City	0 - 0	Shamrock Rovers	Turners Cross
19:45				Attendance: 4,138 Referee: P Tuite

Galway v Cork City

5 June 15	Galway	1 - 3	Cork City	Eamonn Deacy Park
19:45	Molloy  46'		Murray  11' B. Dennehy  45' Buckley  81'	Attendance: 1,301 Referee: D McKeon

Cork City v Bray Wanderers

12 June 16	Cork City	1 - 0	Bray Wanderers	Turners Cross
19:45	O Sullivan  29'			Attendance: 3,006 Referee: J McKell

Derry City v Cork City

26 June 17	Derry City	0 - 2	Cork City	The Brandywell
19:45			Sheppard  58' B. Dennehy  87'	Attendance: 950 Referee: P Sutton

Cork City v St Pats

3 July 18	Cork City	P - P	St Pats	Turners Cross
19:45

Longford Town v Cork City

18 July 20	Longford Town	1 - 4	Cork City	City Calling Stadium
19:45			Beattie  19' Sheppard  22' (87) O Sullivan  69'	Attendance: 602 Referee: D Tomney

Dundalk v Cork City

26 July 21	Dundalk	1 - 1	Cork City	Oriel Park
18:00	Towell  12'		M. O Sullivan  37'	Attendance: 2,613 Referee: N Doyle

Cork City v Bohemians

31 July 22	Cork City	4 - 0	Bohemians	Turners Cross
19:45	O Sullivan  4' (27) Healy  70' Morrissey  86'			Attendance: 3,204 Referee: P Sutton

Sligo Rovers v Cork City

8 August 23	Sligo Rovers	0 - 2	Cork City	The Showgrounds
19:45			O Sullivan  58' Gaynor  87'

Cork City v Limerick

14 August 24	Cork City	2 - 3	Limerick	Turners Cross
19:45	Gaynor  21' O'Flynn  59'		Faherty  7' Clarke  35' O'Connor  65'	Attendance: 3,018 Referee: D McKeon

Shamrock Rovers v Cork City

17 August 25	Shamrock Rovers	3 - 0	Cork City	Tallaght Stadium
20:00

Cork City v Galway

28 August 26	Cork City	1 - 0	Galway	Turners Cross
19:45	B. Dennehy  57'			Attendance: 2,518 Referee: S Grant

Cork City v St Pats

31 August 18	Cork City	3 - 1	St Pats	Turners Cross
19:45	Bennett  24' O'Connor  28' D Dennehy  60'		Langley  65'	Attendance: 2,017 Referee: N Doyle

Bray Wanderers v Cork City

5 September 27	Bray Wanderers	0 - 0	Cork City	Carlisle Grounds
17:45

Cork City v Derry City

25 September 28	Cork City	0 - 0	Derry City	Turners Cross
19:25				Attendance: 2,380 Referee: T Connolly

Drogheda United v Cork City

9 October 30	Drogheda United	1 - 1	Cork City	United Park
19:45	Treacy  9'		Sheppard  12'	Referee: R Mathews

Cork City v Longford Town

16 October 31	Cork City	2 - 3	Longford Town	Turners Cross
19:45	Sheppard  34' Beattie  63'		O'Sullivan  39' Rice  42' O'Connor  83'	Attendance: 2,011 Referee: B Connolly

St Pats v Cork City

19 October 29	St Pats	1 - 2	Cork City	Richmond Park
19:45	Greene  90'		Beattie  9' Morrissey  23'	Attendance: 723 Referee: D Tomney

Cork City v Dundalk

23 October 32	Cork City	2 - 2	Dundalk	Turners Cross
19:45	O'Sullivan  29' Sheppard  38'		McMillan  9' Towell  26'	Attendance: 2.618 Referee: P Tuite

Bohemians v Cork City

30 October 33	Bohemians	0 - 1	Cork City	Dalymount Park
19:45			B. Dennehy	Attendance: 1,904 Referee: N Doyle

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Dundalk (C, Q)	33	23	9	1	78	23	+55	78	Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2	Cork City (Q)	33	19	10	4	57	25	+32	67	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
3	Shamrock Rovers (Q)	33	18	11	4	56	27	+29	65
4	St Patrick's Athletic (Q)	33	18	4	11	52	34	+18	58
5	Bohemians	33	15	8	10	49	42	+7	53

Source: League of Ireland, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.^[2]
(C) Champion; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:

1. Since the winners of the 2015 FAI Cup, Dundalk, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the spot awarded to the Cup winner (Europa League first qualifying round) is passed to the second-placed team, Cork City, and the spot for the third-placed team (Europa League first qualifying round) is passed to the fourth-placed team, St Patrick's Athletic.

Top Goalscorers

Name	Appearances	Goals
Karl Sheppard	30	13
Mark O Sullivan	27	10
Billy Dennehy	23	9
Ross Gaynor	26	3
Steven Beattie	13	3
Darren Dennehy	23	3

UEFA Europa League

Main Article: 2015–16 UEFA Europa League

The UEFA Europa League 2015–16 was the Rebel Army's first season competing in a European Competition since 2008.

First Qualifying Round

Cork City v KR Reykjavík

2 July 1	Cork City	1 - 1	KR Reykjavík	Turners Cross
19:45	Bennett  19'		Hauksson  28'	Attendance: 4,641 Referee: Kristoffersen (DEN)

KR Reykjavík v Cork City

9 July 2	KR Reykjavík	2 - 1 (3 - 2 agg.)	Cork City	Frostaskjol
19:45			O Sullivan  13'

FAI Cup

Main Article: 2015 FAI Cup

Second Round

Wexford Youths v Cork City

	Wexford Youths	0 - 2	Cork City	Ferrycarraig Park
			B. Dennehy  45' O Sullivan  86'	Referee: G Kelly

Third Round

Cork City v St Pats

21 August	Cork City	4 - 0	St Pats	Turners Cross
19:25	Buckley  49' (63) O Sullivan  50' B. Dennehy  88'			Attendance: 1,748 Referee: P McLaughlin

Quarter Final

Derry City v Cork City

11 September	Derry City	1 - 1	Cork City	The Brandywell
19:45	R. McBride  5'		O Sullivan  50'	Attendance: 1,400 Referee: P McLaughlin

Quarter Final Replay

Cork City v Derry City

11 September	Cork City	3 - 0	Derry City	The Brandywell
19:45			Gaynor  75' Buckley  77' O'Flynn  86'	Attendance: 1,154 Referee: D Tomney

Semi Final

Bray Wanderers v Cork City

4 October	Bray Wanderers	0 - 1	Cork City	Carlisle Grounds
14:00			Morrissey  60'	Attendance: 2,173 Referee: N Doyle

Final

Cork City v Dundalk

8 November	Cork City	0 - 1 (a.e.t.)	Dundalk	Aviva Stadium
15:30			Richie Towell  107'	Attendance: 25,103 Referee: D McKeon

Top Goalscorers

Name	Appearances	Goals
Garry Buckley	5	3
Mark O Sullivan	5	3
Billy Dennehy	4	2

EA Sports Cup

Main Article: 2015 League of Ireland Cup

Second Round

Waterford United v Cork City

6 April 2	Waterford United	0 - 2	Cork City	RSC
15:00			Ross Gaynor  47' Lehane  78'

Quarter Final

Cork City v St Pats

19 May 3	Cork City	1 - 1 (a.e.t.) (3-5 p)	St Pats	Turners Cross
19:45	Kearney  64'		Bayly  60'	Attendance: 930 Referee: S Grant

Top Goalscorers

Name	Appearances	Goals
Rob Lehane	1	1
Ross Gaynor	1	1
Liam Kearney	1	1

Munster Senior Cup

Quarter Final

Cobh Wanderers v Cork City

14 February 1	Cobh Wanderers	0 - 6	Cork City
			O Sullivan  1' Lehane  10'  21'  76' B. Dennehy  12' Djilali  84'

Semi Final

Limerick v Cork City

28 February 2	Limerick	3 - 3 (a.e.t.) (8-7 p)	Cork City	LDL Ground, Limerick
13:00			O Sullivan Liam Miller Karl Sheppard

Top Goalscorers

Name	Appearances	Goals
Rob Lehane	2	3
Mark O Sullivan	2	2
Billy Dennehy	2	1
Liam Miller	2	1
Kieran Djilali	2	1
Karl Sheppard	2	1

References

1. "First Team Coaching Staff". Cork City F.C. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
2. "PREMIER DIVISION 2015 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 11 July 2015.