FORMER Town striker Keigan Parker is set to make his Cork City debut at leaders Sligo Rovers tomorrow after signing a short-term contract with the League of Ireland club.
The 30-year-old Scot, who played for Town in 2008-09, spent the second half of the 2011-12 campaign at Ayr United, winning the Scottish Football League’s goal of the season award for his overhead effort against Dundee at Somerset Park in April.
It was one of five goals in 17 appearances for Ayr, taking his career tally to 82 in 425 matches.
Livingston-born Parker, signed by Stan Ternent from Blackpool, struggled to make his mark at Town, where he notched just twice in 23 games.
But he’d been a hit at both Bloomfield Road and his first club St Johnstone, winning Scotland Under 21 honours, and after leaving Town, played for Hartlepool, Oldham, Bury, Mansfield, Fleetwood and Stockport.
The League of Ireland operates in the summer, with Cork currently eighth in the 12-club Premier Division having played 16 out of 22 games.
Parker said: “I’m very pleased to have signed. I have always wanted to play in another country, so I am looking forward to it.
“I like to play off the shoulder of the last defender and get in behind the defence, to create chances for myself and for others.
“The deal is to the end of the season, and I have heard a lot of good things about the club, it’s fanbase and also the training here.
“I’ve had a look at the league table and it looks quite close, so I don’t think there is anything to stop us climbing and hopefully challenging for the top three or four.”
Cork manager Tommy Dunne said: “We will have a look at him in training and hopefully he will be available for the game against Sligo.
“Keigan looks capable of scoring goals. He is probably a different type of striker to what we have had previously, and he also has a lot of experience and I think he has a lot to offer us.”
Tomorrow’s hosts Sligo suffered a 3-1 defeat to Spartak Trnava in the first leg of the second round of Europa League qualifying in Slovakia on Thursday.
