Sean Maguire may be returning to England for a third footballing stint.
The Cork City striker has been in fine form for the past two seasons and is attracting interest from Championship side Preston.
Having secured the services of Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan late last year, Preston have kept a keen eye on the Airtricity Premier Division. Alan Browne, Greg Cunningham and Andy McGeady [on loan from Everton] are all at Deepdale too.
And so it was, this evening, that Preston chairman Peter Risdale and manager Simon Grayson were at Richmond Park to watch Maguire and Cork City as they tried to consolidate their healthy league lead.
Risadle and Grayson witnessed an energetic, positive performance from the 24-year-old as he kept the St Pat’s defence on their toes. He got little change in and around the box but was never shy in trying to take his man on, winning a couple of frees and corners.
Cork upped the tempo after the break and Maguire got in behind the home defence but could not get a shot away. He was on the scene for City’s opener but the goal was credited to Ryan Delaney. Karl Sheppard made it 2-0 to Cork with a fine strike – his second in consecutive games – in the closing stages, and they added a third in injury time.
Maguire could not add to his impressive league tally of eight goals in nine games but he can be pleased with his performance. So can City.
So can the Preston contingent.
