Cork City 3-2 Sligo Rovers
A Mark O’Sullivan goal two minutes from time saw Cork City get back to winning ways in the Airtricity League Premier Division at Turner’s Cross with a 3-2 victory over Sligo Rovers.
Karl Sheppard pounced to break the deadlock after just 30 seconds when he fired beyond Richard Brush from a tight angle, and the striker missed a penalty kick before doubling his tally for the night on the half-hour mark.
John Russell pegged one back for Rovers before the break before Kevin Devaney levelled matters with 15 minutes remaining. O’Sullivan, however, was on hand to net what would be the winning goal, though City still needed an excellent save from Mark McNulty in added time to keep their opponents at bay.
The hosts made four changes from the team that started against Bohemians with Dan Murray, new boy Kevin O’Connor, Kieran Djilali and Gavan Holohan all lining out for kick off. Owen Heary, meanwhile, drafted in one change - Eoin Wearen starting in place of Devaney, who dropped to the bench.
Criticised for seemingly playing too many long balls recently, it was a fine pass from the back that set Sheppard free to nip along the right-hand wing and poke home past Brush less than a minute into the game. The through ball came from the boot of Dan Murray, and it was a well-taken finish for the former Shamrock Rovers front man.
Sheppard was once again at the heart of City’s next attack. He picked up possession in midfield on ten minutes and combined with Holohan and then O’Connor to afford O’Sullivan his first chance on target. Brush was wise to the burly number 23’s shot; however, and calmly cleared the danger.
The home side might have moved two ahead two minutes later. O’Connor’s corner was initially cleared, but the Wexford man’s second ball back inside found Holohan lurking in a dangerous position, and the latter was quickly dumped to the turf by Russell. Referee Robert Harvey immediately pointed to the penalty spot, but Sheppard took a little time with his run up and hit the ball at a nice height for Brush, who was able to block his effort.
City fired two long-range efforts in on goal from the boot of Sheppard and Holohan respectively before finally getting further reward in the 30th minute. A lovely flick from O’Sullivan set Holohan free and he passed the ball along to Liam Miller on the left-hand side of the box. The former Ireland international has yet to score since returning to Leeside and his superbly-hit effort rebounded off Brush’s post and into the path of Sheppard, who blasted the ball home for his second of the night.
If the crowd of 2,882 thought the game was settled, they found themselves back on edge just eight minutes later when Steven Beattie did well down the right and Russell was on hand to tap his cross beyond McNulty’s reach from close range.
After an end-to-end opening half, the second 45 minutes took a little time to warm up. Sheppard fired an effort well over Brush’s crossbar on 50 minutes, but it wasn’t until Holohan rattled the Sligo crossbar from another City corner eight minutes later that a clear cut chance was forged out for either side.
Heary’s outfit continued to probe without any real cause for concern until 75 minutes when substitute Devaney got his head to Russell’s corner. However, though McNulty made a superb initial block, the midfielder was on hand to fire home the rebound and claim his first goal in Rovers’ colours.
The Leesiders responded immediately. Dan Murray had a shot blocked from Colin Healy’s corner with ten minutes remaining while both Danny Morrissey and Rob Lehane were introduced to the action. The visitors held out in resolute fashion initially - that is until O’Sullivan collected his late winner.
Cork City: Mark McNulty; John Kavanagh, Dan Murray, Darren Dennehy, Kevin O’Connor; Kieran Djilali (Billy Dennehy ’70), Colin Healy, Liam Miller, Gavan Holohan (Danny Morrissey ’82); Karl Sheppard (Rob Lehane ’85), Mark O’Sullivan.
Substitutes: Alan Smith, Michael McSweeney, Garry Buckley, Liam Kearney.
Sligo Rovers: Richard Brush; Alan Keane (Raffaele Cretaro ’90), Gary Boylan, Stephen Folan, Jake Dykes (Danny Ledwith ’46); Eoin Wearen, Steven Beattie, David Cawley, John Russell, Sander Puri (Kevin Devaney ’70); Dinny Corcoran.
Substitutes: Ryan Coulter, Keith Ward, Gary Armstrong, Ryan McManus.
Referee: Robert Harvey.
