While most of his team-mates will be using the mid-season break to recover and to perhaps go on a short holiday, Steven Beattie will remain in Cork building his fitness. The versatile 29-year-old played seventy plus minutes as Cork City claimed an i
While most of his team-mates will be using the mid-season break to recover and to perhaps go on a short holiday, Steven Beattie will remain in Cork building his fitness.
The versatile 29-year-old played seventy plus minutes as Cork City claimed an important victory against Bohemians on Friday night thanks to Gearoid Morrissey’s last minute winner.
The result means the Champions will remain top of the league for the duration of the two-week break, a point clear of Dundalk who they meet in their next competitive fixture.
For Beattie, who was handed the man of the match shortly after full time, the extra minutes came at a small price as he will need some attention on his ankle but he insisted he was just delighted to be out on the pitch.
“I won’t say which ankle it is because then it will be targeted,” joked Beattie.
“Obviously it’s a bit frustrating not playing, you’s know me long enough that I’ll come on I won’t sulk, I won’t do anything, I’ll just keep training and when I get my chance I’ll try and take it and that’s what I tried to do today.
“Man of the match and everything is grand but the three points are more important than individual performances.
“It’s tough. You’re told to stay warm but you don’t actually think you’re going to come on after 20 minutes and then I saw Shepp (Karl Sheppard) was struggling. You could see it in his face he was grimacing with his run so I upped my warm up then.
“Listen it’s the Premier Division in Ireland, you have to be ready to come in whenever. The pace of the game is frantic so if you’re not up to it you won’t be coming on much longer or you won’t be starting. I came in, got up to the pace fairly quickly and was delighted with how I played.
“I’m used to that. Right back, right wing, left back, left wing, the ten I don’t really mind, it’s nearly a game at this stage where I’m going to play.
“I see a sub coming on and I think that could be me going somewhere again. But again I don’t mind I just love playing football and love getting results like that in the last minute.
“We were defending our undefeated record down here so there’s a bigger target on our back than usual but credit to the lads we dug in we ground out a result and it could prove to be a massive three points in the long run.”
While the club doesn’t have a fixture until Friday week, it does have an important event on Tuesday morning as the first round of the Champions League qualifying round takes place.
The Double winners will participate in the tournament for the first time since 2006 and with the likes of Celtic and Malmo as potential opponents, Beattie, who will be watching the draw with roommate Johnny Dunleavy, insisted he doesn’t mind who they face.
“Bring it on!” he enthused. “Wherever, I don’t really mind it’s a great opportunity for players, staff, club and supporters who have waited long enough for this.
“The supporters probably want a big team but players, we just want to play in the champions league, experience it, give it our best shot and see where we are with the best of the best.
“We’ve done ourselves proud every time we’ve played in the Europa league so why not give it a good bash in the Champions League?
“With the quality we have, we’re certainly not there to make up the numbers. We don’t want to play one round and that’s us done and no one remembers us, we want to make a name for ourselves both personally and as a club.
“As I said, this is the best of the best so we want to see where we are at, how far away we are or are we close.
“It’s going to be interesting times, it's going to be exciting and I can’t wait to see Cork City’s name in that draw. It’s going to be special.”
