Cork City 2-0 Shamrock Rovers
Cork City moved back up to third in the Airtricity League Premier Division and to within four points of leaders Dundalk on Monday night courtesy of a 2-0 win over Shamrock Rovers at Turner’s Cross.
A goal from Steven Beattie in the first minute put the visitors on the back foot right from the beginning, and they never looked like getting back into the contest once Karl Sheppard doubled the Leesiders’ advantage just over 10 minutes later.
City dominated the remainder of the first half – with Beattie and Sheppard guilty of not adding to their respective tallies – while Rovers had a sole effort from Trevor Clarke to show in their Shots on Goals column in the second half.
John Caulfield drafted Michael McSweeney into his back four to replace the suspended Kenny Browne, while Sheppard was given the nod ahead of Stephen Dooley for a spot on the left wing.
Fenlon also made two changes with Luke Byrne and Trevor Clarke starting instead of Michael Drennan and the suspended Gary McCabe.
As they did against Finn Harps last Friday night, City started brightly and went ahead with just 26 seconds on the match clock.
The home side kicked off, Greg Bolger picked out Beattie with a lovely ball down the right and the winger turned back inside Rovers full-back Byrne before firing beyond the outstretched hand of Barry Murphy.
Garry Buckley took a half shot from the edge of the area four minutes later before Rovers lost the services of Byrne to a knee injury – following a clumsy clash with Beattie – with 10 minutes gone.
Fenlon introduced Gareth McCaffrey in place of his number three and the second goal of the game arrived moments later.
A throw from McSweeney was initially missed by Sheppard but when Buckley’s follow-up effort fell into the path of the forward for a second time, he made no mistake and planted a sweetly-hit shot in the back of the Rovers net.
A header from Max Blanchard, following a Brandon Miele set piece, had Mark McNulty under pressure for the first time in the 25th minute. However, the half chance was eventually cleared by the City defence.
The majority of the 2,731-strong crowd were on their feet screaming for a penalty kick two minutes later though as Pat Cregg appeared to use his hand in clearing another effort from Sheppard off the line. However, referee Jim McKell waved away all appeals.
City did not relent and continued to pile forward. Beattie might have scored a second when a mix up at the back for Rovers allowed him race clear down the right; however, his final shot drifted left and wide.
The Dubliner then supplied a lovely ball across the box to Sheppard two minutes later only for Simon Madden to make a vital interception and concede a corner. A fine ball from McSweeney saw another effort from Sheppard saved just before the half-time whistle.
Rovers notched up their first real effort on target on 52 minutes. McNulty punched Miele’s corner clear and when it fell to Trevor Clarke at the edge of the City box, it took a brave block from Alan Bennett to keep the midfielder’s powerful drive at bay.
Beattie continued to cause problems for City down the right wing. He raced on to a long ball from O’Connor just before the hour mark only to see his shot hooked clear by Murphy. Sheppard picked up the loose clearance but couldn’t redirect his follow-up on target.
More good work from Sean Maguire created the hosts’ next opportunity three minutes later. The striker twisted and turned the Rovers defence inside out before poking a ball through to Sheppard. However, City’s number 19 saw his close range shot blocked and deflected out for a corner.
The visitors came more into the game in the final 20 minutes but the lack of any cutting edge up front meant they were reduced to shooting from distance or trying to make an impact from set pieces.
The final say went to Caulfield’s men. Bennett directed a header inches off target from a Beattie corner on 87 minutes before Beattie fired to the left and wide a minute later.
An interested spectator on the night was St. Pat’s manager Liam Buckley, who City face next this coming Friday evening.
Cork City FC: Mark McNulty; Michael McSweeney, Alan Bennett, Johnny Dunleavy, Kevin O’Connor; Steven Beattie, Gearoíd Morrissey (Gavan Holohan ’90), Greg Bolger (Colin Healy ’90), Garry Buckley, Karl Sheppard (Danny Morrissey ’89); Sean Maguire.
Substitutes: Stephen Dooley, Mark O’Sullivan, Alan Smith, Ian Turner.
Shamrock Rovers: Barry Murphy; Simon Madden, Maxime Blanchard, David Webster, Luke Byrne (Gareth McCaffrey ’10); Gavin Brennan, Pat Cregg, Killian Brennan, Brandon Miele, Trevor Clarke; Dean Clarke (Danny North ’80).
Substitutes: Craig Hyland, Robert Cornwall, Michael Drennan, Stephen McPhail, Sean Heaney.
Referee: Jim McKell.
