St. Patrick's Athletic 2 Cork City 1
Booked/sent off: Anto Flood (55 mins), Aidan Price (86 mins), Killian Brennan (88 mins)/none.
Cork City were seconds away from securing
the unlikeliest of points at Richmond Park but an eventful second half ended in
heartbreak for the travelling Leesiders as a late Killian Brennan penalty
secured a 2-1 win for league leaders St. Patrick’s Athletic.
City had earlier taken the lead through Ciaran Kilduff despite being down to ten men following Kalen Spillane’s sending off after he went nose-to-nose with Anto Flood – but that lead only lasted three minutes and it was the Pat’s striker who levelled matters.
And sadly for Kilduff, he would soon go from hero to villain as he was the one culpable of fouling Brennan in the dying seconds of the match which led to the Saints’ winning penalty.
The result means Cork City remain in seventh place, two points behind Munster rivals Limerick who don’t play until Sunday, while Drogheda’s 1-1 draw at Bohemians means they have closed the gap on the Leesiders to just two points. As for Pat’s, they will maintain their three point lead at the top of the table until at next week.
Tommy Dunne made only one change to the team that started in last week’s 2-2 draw with Dundalk in Turner’s Cross: John Dunleavy had to settle for a place on the bench after being rated as doubtful before the game due to a knee injury, with Shane Duggan returning to the side after serving a suspension.
In contrast, Liam Buckley originally only retained Chris Forrester from the eleven that started in the midweek EA Sports Cup quarter-final defeat to Shamrock Rovers, but Shane McFaul was injured in the warm up so John Russell was drafted in for his second start in a week.
The early exchanges were even as Pat’s struggled to get into their passing rhythm, with City all too eager to get in amongst them, as evidenced in the eighth minute when Chris Forrester tried to thread through Anto Flood – just as the lanky striker looked set to latch onto the ball, City left-back Danny Murphy came across with a hard shoulder to send him flying.
The first effort of note in the game came from CCFC in the 10th minute following a break from the back. The ball eventually found Daryl Kavanagh in an unfamiliar right-wing position and his cross was cleared to the edge of the area where it was collected by Shane Duggan. Under pressure, he teed it up for fellow midfielder Gearoid Morrissey to have a pop but his low effort was comfortably saved by Brendan Clarke.
As the half wore on, the home side began to dominate and it was only thanks to some last ditch defending and three excellent saves by City ‘keeper Mark McNulty that the game remained scoreless until half-time. And McNulty’s first save didn’t even come from a shot.
Conan Byrne, a thorn in the side of Danny Murphy all game, worked some space on the right wing before sending in a whipped left-footed cross into the heart of the area. Inexplicably, nobody attacked it and McNulty was forced to tip it ‘round the post.
Then, on the half hour Pat’s had their best chance of the half. Russell got the ball on the right wing and put in an excellent cross into the heart of the area – Killian Brennan rose highest to meet it on the edge of the six yard box and his perfect connection looked to have beaten the slightly advanced McNulty. But the City ‘keeper wasn’t to be deceived and he stuck out a right foot to divert the danger.
Eight minutes later and McNulty was forced to save another header, this time from Forrester. Another left-footed Byrne inswigner from the right was met powerfully at the back post by Forrester who sent it back across goal but McNulty was able to stretch enough to tip it wide.
After an early City excursion forward, business in the second half resumed as it had ended in the first: Pat’s domination. And this led to the incident which sparked the game into life.
Forrester went down in the box in the 52nd minute under a challenge from Spillane but his appeals for a penalty were ignored. As the winger was getting up, he seemed to react to something said by Horgan. Spillane and Flood then waded into the debate which continued without the original antagonists as play moved into the other half of the pitch.
Spillane and Flood were virtually alone in the City half when both players went nose-to-nose. Flood went down, to the disgust of the City defender, and after much haranguing, Sutton produced the red card while McNulty was booked for his protestations.
But far from sounding the death knell on any hopes the Leesiders had of stealing something from this game, it gave them the impetus to take the lead against the run of play.
In the 58th minute, Ciaran Kilduff latched onto a ball down the right channel by Gearoid Morrissey and, finding himself in behind the Pat’s backline, he drove at Clarke and from an acute angle calmly slotted home between the ‘keeper’s legs.
That goal was the first scored by any City side against Pats since June 2011, when the Leesider’s – then in the First Division – scored a giant killing in the EA Sports Cup, recording a 2-1 win in Turner’s Cross thanks to goals from Derek O’Brien and Graham Cummins.
However, that lead only lasted three minutes as the Saints rallied to get back to level-pegging. Collecting Brennan’s pass from midfield, Flood was allowed to turn outside the box and, after a shimmy to make some space, he curled the ball over McNulty’s despairing dive.
The Inchicore side began piling on the pressure on ten man City in search of a winner and it took two more excellent stops from McNulty to deny them.
The first was from Forrester, who went by two City defenders before unleashing a fierce shot inside the six yard box, but McNulty spreads himself well to save. Then, a cross by substitute Jake Kelly, only introduced, was headed back across goal at the back post where Flood was waiting with an open goal. However, his looped effort was somehow tipped onto the bar by McNulty and City escaped again.
But just when it looked like City would take an unlikely but hard-fought point here, Brennan went down in the box under a challenge from Kilduff and Sutton pointed to the spot. The midfielder competently despatched to break travelling Cork hearts.
TEAMS:
St. Patrick’s Athletic: Brendan Clarke; Ger O’Brien, Kenny Browne, Aidan Price, Ian Bermingham; Conan Byrne, Greg Bolger, Killian Brennan, John Russell (Jake Kelly, 71 mins), Chris Forrester (Stephen Maher, 88 mins); Anto Flood (Christy Fagan, 79 mins). Subs not used: Rene Gilmartin, Conor Kenna, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Sean Gannon.
City had earlier taken the lead through Ciaran Kilduff despite being down to ten men following Kalen Spillane’s sending off after he went nose-to-nose with Anto Flood – but that lead only lasted three minutes and it was the Pat’s striker who levelled matters.
And sadly for Kilduff, he would soon go from hero to villain as he was the one culpable of fouling Brennan in the dying seconds of the match which led to the Saints’ winning penalty.
The result means Cork City remain in seventh place, two points behind Munster rivals Limerick who don’t play until Sunday, while Drogheda’s 1-1 draw at Bohemians means they have closed the gap on the Leesiders to just two points. As for Pat’s, they will maintain their three point lead at the top of the table until at next week.
Tommy Dunne made only one change to the team that started in last week’s 2-2 draw with Dundalk in Turner’s Cross: John Dunleavy had to settle for a place on the bench after being rated as doubtful before the game due to a knee injury, with Shane Duggan returning to the side after serving a suspension.
In contrast, Liam Buckley originally only retained Chris Forrester from the eleven that started in the midweek EA Sports Cup quarter-final defeat to Shamrock Rovers, but Shane McFaul was injured in the warm up so John Russell was drafted in for his second start in a week.
The early exchanges were even as Pat’s struggled to get into their passing rhythm, with City all too eager to get in amongst them, as evidenced in the eighth minute when Chris Forrester tried to thread through Anto Flood – just as the lanky striker looked set to latch onto the ball, City left-back Danny Murphy came across with a hard shoulder to send him flying.
The first effort of note in the game came from CCFC in the 10th minute following a break from the back. The ball eventually found Daryl Kavanagh in an unfamiliar right-wing position and his cross was cleared to the edge of the area where it was collected by Shane Duggan. Under pressure, he teed it up for fellow midfielder Gearoid Morrissey to have a pop but his low effort was comfortably saved by Brendan Clarke.
As the half wore on, the home side began to dominate and it was only thanks to some last ditch defending and three excellent saves by City ‘keeper Mark McNulty that the game remained scoreless until half-time. And McNulty’s first save didn’t even come from a shot.
Conan Byrne, a thorn in the side of Danny Murphy all game, worked some space on the right wing before sending in a whipped left-footed cross into the heart of the area. Inexplicably, nobody attacked it and McNulty was forced to tip it ‘round the post.
Then, on the half hour Pat’s had their best chance of the half. Russell got the ball on the right wing and put in an excellent cross into the heart of the area – Killian Brennan rose highest to meet it on the edge of the six yard box and his perfect connection looked to have beaten the slightly advanced McNulty. But the City ‘keeper wasn’t to be deceived and he stuck out a right foot to divert the danger.
Eight minutes later and McNulty was forced to save another header, this time from Forrester. Another left-footed Byrne inswigner from the right was met powerfully at the back post by Forrester who sent it back across goal but McNulty was able to stretch enough to tip it wide.
After an early City excursion forward, business in the second half resumed as it had ended in the first: Pat’s domination. And this led to the incident which sparked the game into life.
Forrester went down in the box in the 52nd minute under a challenge from Spillane but his appeals for a penalty were ignored. As the winger was getting up, he seemed to react to something said by Horgan. Spillane and Flood then waded into the debate which continued without the original antagonists as play moved into the other half of the pitch.
Spillane and Flood were virtually alone in the City half when both players went nose-to-nose. Flood went down, to the disgust of the City defender, and after much haranguing, Sutton produced the red card while McNulty was booked for his protestations.
But far from sounding the death knell on any hopes the Leesiders had of stealing something from this game, it gave them the impetus to take the lead against the run of play.
In the 58th minute, Ciaran Kilduff latched onto a ball down the right channel by Gearoid Morrissey and, finding himself in behind the Pat’s backline, he drove at Clarke and from an acute angle calmly slotted home between the ‘keeper’s legs.
That goal was the first scored by any City side against Pats since June 2011, when the Leesider’s – then in the First Division – scored a giant killing in the EA Sports Cup, recording a 2-1 win in Turner’s Cross thanks to goals from Derek O’Brien and Graham Cummins.
However, that lead only lasted three minutes as the Saints rallied to get back to level-pegging. Collecting Brennan’s pass from midfield, Flood was allowed to turn outside the box and, after a shimmy to make some space, he curled the ball over McNulty’s despairing dive.
The Inchicore side began piling on the pressure on ten man City in search of a winner and it took two more excellent stops from McNulty to deny them.
The first was from Forrester, who went by two City defenders before unleashing a fierce shot inside the six yard box, but McNulty spreads himself well to save. Then, a cross by substitute Jake Kelly, only introduced, was headed back across goal at the back post where Flood was waiting with an open goal. However, his looped effort was somehow tipped onto the bar by McNulty and City escaped again.
But just when it looked like City would take an unlikely but hard-fought point here, Brennan went down in the box under a challenge from Kilduff and Sutton pointed to the spot. The midfielder competently despatched to break travelling Cork hearts.
TEAMS:
St. Patrick’s Athletic: Brendan Clarke; Ger O’Brien, Kenny Browne, Aidan Price, Ian Bermingham; Conan Byrne, Greg Bolger, Killian Brennan, John Russell (Jake Kelly, 71 mins), Chris Forrester (Stephen Maher, 88 mins); Anto Flood (Christy Fagan, 79 mins). Subs not used: Rene Gilmartin, Conor Kenna, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Sean Gannon.
Booked/sent off: Anto Flood (55 mins), Aidan Price (86 mins), Killian Brennan (88 mins)/none.
Cork City: Mark
McNulty; Neal Horgan, Kalen Spillane, Dan Murray, Danny Murphy; Gearoid
Morrissey, Garry Buckley, Shane Duggan, Daryl Horgan; Daryl Kavanagh (Brian
Lenihan, 64 mins), Ciaran Kilduff. Subs not used: David Browne, John Dunleavy,
Ian Turner, Stephen Kenny, Danny Furlong, Danny Morrissey.
Booked/sent off: Daryl Kavanagh (13 mins), Danny Murphy (18 mins), Mark McNulty (53 mins)/Kalen Spillane (53 mins).
Ref: Padraigh Sutton (Clare)
MATCH STATS (St. Patrick’s Athletic/Cork City):
Shots: 23/7
Corners: 13/1
Fouls: 4/12
Offsides: none
Attendance: 1,094
Booked/sent off: Daryl Kavanagh (13 mins), Danny Murphy (18 mins), Mark McNulty (53 mins)/Kalen Spillane (53 mins).
Ref: Padraigh Sutton (Clare)
MATCH STATS (St. Patrick’s Athletic/Cork City):
Shots: 23/7
Corners: 13/1
Fouls: 4/12
Offsides: none
Attendance: 1,094
No comments:
Post a Comment