Cork City 1-0 Bray Wanderers
Cork City goalkeeper Mark McNulty claimed the plaudits leaving Turner’s Cross as his side beat Bray Wanderers in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division to extend their unbeaten run to seven league games.
McNulty tipped a long-range effort from Ryan McEvoy on to the post in the first half before saving a penalty kick from the boot of David Cassidy in the second period to ensure the Leesiders took all three points courtesy of a Mark O’Sullivan goal.
Wanderers, for their part, continue to show an improvement in form under the stewardship of new manager Trevor Croly, and did have a handful of opportunities to gain at least a point from the match.
Liam Miller was the biggest name missing from John Caulfield’s team sheet before kick off. The midfielder dropped out of the hosts’ match-day squad completely, while Darren Dennehy (suspension) and Liam Kearney also made way for Alan Bennett, Ross Gaynor and Karl Sheppard respectively.
Croly, for his part, made two switches - giving John Sullivan and David Scully the nod instead of Luke Gallagher and Peter McGlynn.
The contest was just two minutes old when the visitors mustered their first chance. A corner from Cassidy ended with Hugh Douglas connecting with the ball and sending an effort bobbling across the turf to an untroubled McNulty.
John Kavanagh picked up a loose ball from Scully three minutes later. However, though the full-back nipped his way past several opponents, his final shot was straight at Stephen McGuinness between the Bray posts.
O’Sullivan had a good opportunity to break the deadlock on nine minutes. Ross Gaynor, starting at left full-back with Kevin O’Connor moved into the centre of the park, picked out the striker with a lovely floated ball but the front man couldn’t direct his header on target.
There were no less than 24 points between these sides before kick-off but that did not stop the visitors from causing Cork problems at the back. In fact, it took an interception by Dan Murray and a save from McNulty to keep Croly’s men at bay in the 22nd minute when Cassidy, and then Scully, threatened.
When the break-through came, it was O’Sullivan who nabbed the goal with 29 minutes on the clock.
The hard work in the build-up was done by Sheppard, who skirted away from his marker before unleashing an effort from close to the penalty spot. McGuinness made an initial save, but the rebound landed on the toe of City’s in-form number 23 and he fired home without a second’s hesitation.
Wanderers, despite the setback, continued to press forward when they could, and McNulty had to tip a superb long-range effort from McEvoy on to his post in the 39th minute to preserve his side’s advantage.
One of the major talking points came in the final minutes of the first half when a high tackle on Douglas led to Colin Healy becoming the first man to see red for City this season.
Adam Mitchell was also shown red for his part in the scuffle that followed; Bennett, McNulty and Graham Kelly were booked by referee Jim McKell.
The second half was a tighter affair to the first, neither side managing to create too many chances. City lost Kavanagh to injury after 63 minutes: he trapped a long ball wonderfully but immediately hobbled to the end line clutching the back of his leg.
Bray had an excellent opportunity to draw level 10 minutes later when Garry Buckley felled Chris Lyons in the box and McKell pointed straight at the penalty spot. Cassidy stepped up to place the ball but though he struck his shot well, McNulty made a superb save to maintain his team’s slim lead.
Chris Lyons blazed over from close range in the final minutes, and the visitors also had a strong claim for a second spot kick, for handball, denied, meaning it was Cork who claimed victory despite their late efforts.
Cork City FC: Mark McNulty; John Kavanagh (Michael McSweeney ’64), Dan Murray, Alan Bennett, Ross Gaynor; Billy Dennehy, Colin Healy, Garry Buckley, Kevin O’Connor; Mark O’Sullivan (Gavan Holohan ’69), Karl Sheppard (Danny Morrissey ‘55).
Substitutes: John O’Flynn, Alan Smith, Rob Lehane, Liam Kearney.
Bray Wanderers: Stephen McGuinness; Hugh Douglas, Alan McNally, Adam Mitchell, Michael Barker; David Cassidy (Emeka Onwubiko ’88), Graham Kelly, John Sullivan, Ryan McEvoy (Luke Gallagher ’81), David Scully (Peter Durrad ‘58); Chris Lyons.
Substitutes: Brian Kane, Gareth McDonagh, Niall Cooney, James McDonnell.
Referee: Jim McKell.
