Double delight as City go nine clear
SOCCER
Daire Walsh
BOHEMIANS………………………………….. 0
CORK CITY……………………………………. 2
KARL SHEPPARD and Garry Buckley were on target at Dalymount Park last night, as Cork City moved nine points clear at the summit of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division with a hard-earned victory over Bohemians.
John Caulfield’s charges were made to work for all three points by Bohs, but thanks to goals in either half, they have now registered a club record-breaking nine consecutive league wins in 2017.
The City starting line-up was unchanged from the one that secured an emphatic 3-0 win against Derry City at Turner’s Cross seven days earlier, with the league’s top scorer Seanie Maguire once again leading their in-form attack.
The hosts brought plenty of energy to their play in the opening moments, and after he was picked out by Paddy Kavanagh in a central position with nine minutes gone on the clock, Oscar Brennan forced an excellent fingertip save from City ‘keeper Mark McNulty.
Cork dealt effectively with the subsequent corner, and Bohs netminder Shane Supple (an All-Ireland SFC winner with Dublin in 2013) raced off his line to prevent Maguire getting on the end of a Stephen Dooley pass in the 13th-minute.
The visitors were aiming to exploit Maguire’s pace against the Bohs back-four, but as the half wore on, he was often left isolated in his lone striker role.
Sheppard was becoming more prominent on the right-wing, however, and he had a penalty claim turned down when Supple once again rushed off his line to cut out a City move.
Yet, just when the game was heading for a scoreless opening period, City broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion. A corner on the right-flank was only partly cleared by the Bohs rearguard, and with the aid of the post, Sheppard found the net with an outstanding first-time volley.
This was a massive boost for City moving towards the interval, and even though Buckley was yellow-carded for a robust tackle on Bohs skipper Derek Pender, they brought a one-goal advantage into the break.
The Leesiders suffered a set-back eight minutes into the second-half, though, as full-back Jimmy Keohane was forced off with a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Steven Beattie, and soon after City breathed a sigh of relief when McNulty turned away Georgie Poynton’s 56th-minute strike from a right-hand angle.
This was a let-off for City, but with Maguire marginally heading over from a Kevin O’Connor cross on the hour mark, they were eager to push on for a second goal.
Conor McCormack and Gearoid Morrissey were delivering strong performances in the City engine room, while the central defensive partnership of captain Alan Bennett and Ryan Delaney was as commanding as ever.
Sheppard dragged a shot from a promising position away from the target on 68 minutes, but heading into the closing stages, Bohs were beginning to increase the pressure on their opponents. The experienced Ian Morris added fresh impetus for the north Dublin side after his introduction as a substitute, and McNulty had to deal with a succession of set-pieces from the hosts.
However, Bohs ultimately couldn’t break down the watertight City defence, and Buckley finally placed the tie beyond doubt with a neat close-range finish – via neat build-up play by Maguire – three minutes from the end.
BOHEMIANS: Shane Supple; Derek Pender, Robert Cornwall, Dan Byrne, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Paddy Kavanagh, Fuad Sule (Ian Morris 75), Oscar Brennan, Keith Ward (Jamie Hamilton 65); Georgie Poynton (Steven Nolan 86); Kaleem Simon.
CORK CITY: Mark McNulty; Jimmy Keohane (Steven Beattie 53), Alan Bennett, Ryan Delaney, Kevin O’Connor; Gearoid Morrissey, Conor McCormack; Karl Sheppard, Garry Buckley (Greg Bolger 89), Stephen Dooley (Shane Griffin 81); Seanie Maguire.
Referee: Ben Connolly (Dublin).