City comeback steals points
SOCCER
Daire Walsh
PEAMOUNT UNITED…………………………… 3
CORK CITY WFC…………………………………. 4
CIARA Desmond’s 81st-minute goal was crucial at Greenogue on Saturday evening, when Cork City WFC completed a remarkable second-half comeback against Peamount United in the Continental Tyres Women’s National League.
Frank Kelleher’s charges were hoping to build on their impressive 4-0 success over Castlebar Celtic six days earlier, but with just eight minutes gone, it was Peamount who broke the deadlock.
Clare Kinsella was picked out in space at a tight angle, and in spite of the best efforts from Cork netminder Trish Fennelly, she finished coolly to the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
This was the kind of start that the visitors were hoping to avoid, but from their next meaningful foray into enemy territory, but they soon restored parity to the tie. Lauren Murphy’s free-kick from deep broke nicely into the path of midfielder Angie Carry, and she unleashed an unstoppable shot beyond the reach of Peamount’s Brooke Dunne.
It was proving to be an extremely lively encounter, but 17 minutes into the action, Peamount regained the lead. Roma McLaughlin was picked out in space on the left, and even though Kinsella got a touch on her resulting left-footed attempt, it looked like the ball crossed the line before her strike partner’s intervention.
Peamount increased their cushion two minutes prior to the interval when Kinsella fired home from close-range via an enticing Rachel Doyle corner.
This left Cork with a mountain to climb until Maggie Duncliffe found the net directly from a left-sided corner five minutes after the restart (3-2).
With the points now very much up for grabs, it came as no surprise to see both defences tightening up as the play moved beyond the hour mark.
Aoife Moloney had a brace of chances for Peamount inside the final-quarter, but it was vital that Cork didn’t allow the Newcastle side to restore their two-goal lead, and with 12 minutes remaining on the clock, they levelled matters once more. Following a foul by Doyle on the raiding Desmond inside the area, left-back Lauren Murphy emphatically dispatched a penalty past the feet of Dunne. Buoyed, Cork sensed that the game was there for the taking.
Roisin O’Connell provided a strong outlet for Cork on the left-flank, and from her pin-point cross nine minutes from time, Desmond moved Cork into the ascendancy with a magnificent looping head over the stranded Dunne.
Despite breathing a sigh of relief when Danielle Murray’s mishit drive drifted past the post in the closing stages, Cork City held out for their fourth win of the league campaign.
PEAMOUNT UNITED: Brooke Dunne; Lucy McCartan, Louise Corrigan (Michelle Dunne h-t), Lizzy Finnegan, Rachel Doyle; Danie Murray, Emma Byrne, Aoife Moloney (Nicole Plunkett 84), Sarah McKevitt (Emma Donoghue 28); Clare Kinsella, Roma McLaughlin.
CORK CITY WFC: Trish Fennelly; Nathalie O’Brien (Lorna O’Connell 75), Ciara McNamara, Zoe Murphy, Lauren Murphy; Ciara Desmond, Angie Carry (Barbara O’Connell h-t), Evelyn Daly, Megan Kelleher, Roisin O’Connell; Maggie Duncliffe.