" I WAS OUT THERE ONCE ! "

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Turner's Cross faithful show fight for survival

   
Saturday August 01 2009

AT 4.01 yesterday, a fan posted on the Cork City fans' discussion board ccfcforum.com that it was "1-0 to the Revenue going into injury-time," but to remember the 1999 Champions League final.

Tom Coughlan might be no Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he did manage to produce a similar outcome to that game yesterday, and the home fans in Turner's Cross last night were in fine voice as they celebrated another stay of execution.

Despite his hand in salvaging matters, Coughlan was the subject of much ire from the Shed End, who let the absent chairman know in no uncertain terms that he was not wanted at the club.

There was also some tongue-in-cheek humour present among the 3,055 who were present, as the chant, "we know you won't believe us, we're going to pay our tax", proved.

It was a night for being thankful for staying in existence more than anything else, however, as these long-suffering supporters were given some reward in the form of a victory courtesy of a first-half penalty on 36 minutes from Fahrudin Kuduzovic.

The Bosnian striker had got on the end of a Danny Murphy cross from the left and though his shot was straight at Chris O'Connor in the Bray goal, he was brought down by the 'keeper as he attempted to get to the rebound.

After dusting himself down, he sent his spot-kick low to O'Connor's right. Though Bray did threaten, primarily through sub Jake Kelly, the sending-off of Stephen Brennan just before the hour, for further protesting a booking for dissent, affected them in midfield and Cork finished the stronger, unlucky not to add a second goal as the game wound down.

On-field activities were secondary here, however, as most of those in attendance reflected on yesterday's unprecedented events which saw the club look like it would be saved, then apparently gone and, at the 11th hour, granted another reprieve.

If the club is to survive, then it is likely that some players, officially free agents after foregoing wages on Wednesday, will leave and the likes of Davin O'Neill and Kuduzovic surely impressed any watching scouts.

As the end neared, the home fans were in fine voice, inspiring a stadium-wide rendition of "Stand up for the Cork City," and a lengthy display after the final whistle saw a banner unveiled declaring that the club founded in 1984 would last forever, while chants for the removal of Coughlan, and his replacement by fans' trust FORAS, also rang out.

CORK CITY -- Connor; Horgan, Long, Murray, Murphy; O'Neill (Silagailis 81), Lordan, O'Donnell, Dennehy; Kuduzovic, Cambridge (Kiely 69).

BRAY WANDERERS -- O'Connor; Doyle, Foran, Webster, Knight (Coughlan 54); O'Neill (Kelly 54), Mulcahy, Brennan, Shields, Massey; Mulroy (Touhy 72).

Ref -- P Sutton (Clare).

LAST MINUTE SAVE FOR CORK CITY FC

EMBATTLED Cork City FC secured a last-minute reprieve from a High Court order to have the soccer club wound up.

The court initially confirmed last Monday’s order to liquidate the club’s holding company, Cork City Investments FC, after finding the company was insolvent following the Revenue Commissioners refusal to accept a payment from the club of 210,000, plus certain undertakings to discharge the remainder of the debt of 439,000.

However, yesterday evening Ms Justice Mary Laffoy heard from Dermott Cahill BL, for Revenue, that it was prepared to accept an initial payment of 210,000 and that the remainder of the debt, 219,000, be paid by the close of business next Wednesday.

The club is also owed a VAT rebate of 10,000. Mr Cahill said that once the final payment is made the winding-up order could be vacated. It was further agreed that if that payment, which the court heard is to come from a London-based bank, is not made, Cork City Investment FC would not seek to have the stay extended, nor appeal the making of the winding-up order to the Supreme Court.

The judge said that in light of the acceptance of that proposal she was happy to continue the stay to Thursday, when the matter would be mentioned before the duty judge at the High Court.

Dozens of City fans took to the streets of Cork yesterday to highlight their fears that the club was about to become extinct. By lunchtime their fears looked to be well founded, but there was widespread joy when the club announced that a deal had been done with the Revenue Commissioners. Supporters also welcomed news of an offer from Celtic FC to play a match in Cork which would provide a cash boost to the home side.

The news delighted Cork City FC chairman Tom Coughlan, who described the past couple of weeks as a rollercoaster of ups and downs. "It’s absolutely fantastic that we got a settlement.

"I did feel the pressure because as chairman there was an obligation on me to keep the club going," Mr Coughlan said. The chairman said he hoped other stakeholders would now get together with him to drive the club forward to ensure the club never faced such an uncertain situation again.

"There is certainly enough goodwill out there. "It is now all about harnessing it for the future benefit of the club," Mr Coughlan said.