Limerick 0-1 Cork City
Cork City picked up a valuable win on the road and moved back to within four points of Airtricity League Premier Division leaders Dundalk with a 1-0 victory over Limerick at Jackman Park.
Karl Sheppard scored in his third consecutive game to net the match’s only goal, while Gavan Holohan and Mark O’Sullivan failed to grab one of several half chances to increase the visitors’ winning margin.
Limerick, for their part, were largely restricted to shots from long range, though Dean Clarke did at least force City keeper Mark McNulty into a top-class save early in the second half.
The hosts made one change from the team that started against Bohemians last time out, with Jason Hughes getting the nod from Martin Russell in place of Sean Harding. City, for their part, were unchanged from their 4-1 win over Drogheda.
Due to play their next home game at Markets Field, Limerick got their final fixture at Jackman Park underway at the direction of referee Neil Doyle. It was the away side that got into their stride the quickest though, and it was Liam Miller that picked up a loose ball in the Limerick box with four minutes gone to fire straight at Conor O’Donnell in the Limerick goal.
Russell’s men tried to hit straight back but though Darragh Rainsford picked up a poor clearance from Dan Murray three minutes later, the winger blazed his effort well off target. Limerick’s next attack fared better. Shane Duggan charged through from midfield and found Ian Turner with a lovely pass. Darren Dennehy was quick to close down his former team-mate however, and eventually cleared the danger.
The breakthrough came with 22 minutes on the clock. Another City attack down the right allowed Billy Dennehy send in a fine ball into the box, and Sheppard was on hand to loop his header around the outstretched hand of O’Donnell.
McNulty gathered a high ball under pressure from Clarke on the half-hour mark while Rainsford, again, drifted in from his left-hand wing only to watch his final effort bobble well to the right of the Cork goalpost.
The Leesiders should have doubled their advantage shortly before the break. O’Connor was slow to a high ball and made a mess of his attempt to gather it. Holohan pounced, but saw his effort cleared off the line by full-back Hughes.
Russell’s side upped the tempo initially after the break. Clarke continued to be the main threat and only an excellent block from McNulty prevented the striker getting on the score sheet on 48 minutes.
Three minutes later, it was Turner that raced clear down the right wing but though his final ball had plenty of pace, it was hit straight at McNulty and the Cork keeper collected at the first ask.
Miller had a quiet game by his own standards but created City’s first opportunity of the second half by slipping a lovely ball through to Sheppard. The striker took a poor first touch but picked out an unmarked Holohan at the far post - only for Paudie O’Connor to intercept the cross.
Turner then planted a free kick into the City wall on 63 minutes. The rebound afforded Duggan the chance to fire a shot on target from just outside the penalty area. The midfielder’s effort was well struck, but McNulty was equal to the challenge.
Working off scraps for most of the contest, Mark O’Sullivan’s hard work saw him create an excellent chance from nothing on 72 minutes. O’Donnell missed his clearance and O’Sullivan nabbed possession and rounded the keeper before lashing his final shot well over the empty net in front of a crowd of 605.
Limerick FC: Conor O’Donnell; Jason Hughes (Tony Whitehead ’43), Paudie O’Connor, Robbie Williams, Shane Tracy; Ian Turner, Shane Duggan, Paul O’Conor, Darragh Rainsford (Ross Mann ’73), Vinny Faherty (Sean Russell ’61), Dean Clarke.
Substitutes: Tommy Holland, Aidan Price, Val Feeney, Kieran Hanlon.
Cork City FC: Mark McNulty; John Kavanagh (Michael McSweeney ’65), Dan Murray, Darren Dennehy, Kevin O’Connor; Billy Dennehy, Colin Healy, Gavan Holohan, Liam Miller (Garry Buckley ’78), Karl Sheppard (Liam Kearney ’88), Mark O’Sullivan.
Substitutes: Alan Smith, John O’Flynn, Danny Morrissey, Rob Lehane.
Referee: Neil Doyle.
