| Cork’s new breed of footballer
 By
Richard Purden
Cork City v Sligo Rovers
Turners Cross 7.45pm Friday.
Neale Fenn is typical of the new breed of Eircom League soccer stars.
The 28-year-old joined Tottenham as an 18-year-old with stars in his eyes,
shortly finding himself bouncing around the lower leagues in England.
So he found the lure of the Eircom League more inviting than the temptations
of the English Second Division.
He says: “Between going out on loan and then playing in the lower
end of the English game I knew I needed a change. Waterford came in for
me and it was an easy choice. Then the chance to move to my mother’s
home county of Cork came up and I had not been as settled in my football
for a long time.”
Neale was born in Edmonton, North London to an English father and a
mother “who was a McCarthy from Castletownbere”.
He joined Tottenham as a teenager and soon won international honours with
the Republic of Ireland.
He says: “I was approached at the age of 14 about declaring for
Ireland. It is the country of my mother so I had no hesitation. To be
honest the highlight of my career came while playing for Ireland at the
U-20 World Cup when we came third.”
Neale was also in the title-winning Cork City team of last year.
He says: “To get my hands on a medal was brilliant. I had played
hundreds of senior games in my career without a medal. Last season with
Cork was strange because I don’t think many of the Cork players,
especially myself, had great seasons. The defence was excellent and Kevin
Doyle did well which is not surprising considering what he has achieved
since.”
Cork have made a solid start to their title defence while Fenn has been
in top form.
He says: “Being a striker I suppose your worth is measured in goals.
Last year I did a lot more in terms of link-up play but without Kevin
this year the onus has fallen on me to score a few goals as well, so I
am glad to have knocked in a few.”
Neale and his team mates will play host to newly-promoted Sligo Rovers
on Friday and it’s not a challenge anyone at Leeside is taking lightly.
“You never really know what to expect with a team that’s just
promoted but Sligo have made a good start this season and are conceding
very few goals which is important when avoiding relegation.”
With Neale in the form of his life the Cork City faithful will be confident
of getting something out of this game.
Verdict: Home win
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