By Pat McAuliffe
KR Reykjavik 2-1 Cork City After Extra Time (KR win 3-2 on agg)
Cork City bowed out of the Europa League after they lost a one goal lead against ten-man KR Reykjavik in this first qualifying round second leg clash in Iceland.
O'Sullivan, starting his first European tie scored a brilliant goal after 13 minutes, when he raced on to a ball from Ross Gaynor, running from the halfway line, his strength saw him hold off a defender and with the angle narrowing as he entered the penalty area, he thumped a powerful shot which took a slight deflection as the ball looped over goalkeeper Stefan Magnusson.
The home side were reduced to ten-men after defender Skuli Jon Fridgeirsson was shown a second yellow card for a foul on the battling O'Sullivan right on the half-time whistle.
KR scored a deserved equalised in the 75th minute when skipper Palmi Palmason finished from close range after sustained pressure from the home side.
And Cork were sent crashing out of the competition when lively midfielder Jacob Schoop rounded goalkeeper Mark McNulty to score a 103rd minute clincher.
Cork went into the second leg showing three changes from the side that played in the drawn game in Turners Cross. Top scorer Billy Dennehy was absent, and has probably played his last game for the club after manager John Caulfield left him out of the travelling party for disciplinary reasons and gave the Tralee-born forward the option of finding another club.
His brother Darren, who has also been an ever present this season at the heart of the Leesiders' defence, was also left back in Cork with the official word from the club saying he had a groin tear, his place at the back going to experienced defender Dan Murray.
Murray was making his 23rd appearance in Europe in a Cork shirt equalling the record previously held by Michael Devine and Colin O'Brien.
O'Sullivan, who created problems for Reyjkavik when introduced as a substitute in the first leg with half an hour remaining, started instead of John O'Flynn as the fulcrum of the City attack.
And it was the 32-year-old O'Sullivan who gave Cork a great boost with that early lead goal, his 22nd senior goal in the 15 months since joining the Leesiders.
But despite KR being reduced to ten men the Icelanders dominated the second half and deservedly
equalised with 15 minutes remaining of normal time when skipper Palmason scored unmarked from close range.
This had come after Oskar Haukson, scorer of the equaliser in Turners Cross in the 1-1 draw last week, had sent a powerful header crashing off the Cork crossbar with McNulty beaten just before the hour mark.
With the game now entering extra-time there were chances at both ends as City substitute O'Flynn raced on to a defensive header but shot over the crossbar.
Also KR sub Thor Mar Ragnarsson saw a header smack off the Leesiders crossbar before Schoop
struck the crucial winning strike.
Reyjkavik: Magnusson; Josepsson, Christiansen, Fridgeirsson, Gunnarsson (Ragnarsson 71);
Saevarsson (Omarsson 52), Palmason; Frederiksen, Schoop, Hauksson; Martin (G Sigurdsson 103).
Unused Subs; Jensson, K Magnusson, Andarson, A Sigurdson.
Cork: McNulty; Dunleavy, Bennett, Murray, O'Connor; Sheppard (O'Flynn 80), Healy, Miller (Kearney 65), Buckley, Gaynor; O'Sullivan (Morrissey 112).
Unused Subs; Holohan, McSweeney, Lehane, Smith.
Referee: Alex Anufrijevs (Latvia).
