Ten-man City U19 side suffer a set-back in Belfield
UCD U19………………………………..4
CORK CITY U19………………………..0
U19 SOCCER
Daire Walsh
THERE was disappointment for 10-man Cork City at Belfield on Sunday afternoon, when they were on the receiving end of a heavy defeat to UCD in an U19 Southern Elite Division clash.
City were close to breaking the deadlock on four minutes, as a shot from U17 star Cian Murphy was turned away by UCD netminder Conor Kearns.
This would have been an early tonic for the Leesiders, but instead they found themselves falling behind seven minutes later.
A powerful right-footed strike from substitute Simon Power (who had replaced injured left-winger Neil Farrugia) crashed off the crossbar, and UCD striker Yoyo Mahdy was on hand to head home the close-range rebound.
This was a significant set-back for City, and even though Aaron Drinan had a subsequent shot turned behind by Kearns, they suffered another hammer blow just before the half-hour mark. Skipper Garan Manley was issued with a straight red-card for a foul on Mahdy, in spite of vocal protests from the City players.
They felt the UCD front man was offside in the build-up to the incident, but although the switch of midfielder Pierce Phillips to centre-half helped to keep City in touch until the break, UCD ultimately doubled their lead four minutes after the restart.
The Metropolitan outfit turned over possession deep inside the final-third, and following a neat pass by Mahdy, Kevin Coffey finished to the bottom left-hand corner.
This left City with a mountain to climb for the remainder of the action, and while Drinan was marginally off-target with a looping header, UCD eventually increased their cushion at the beginning of the final-quarter.
The elusive Coffey broke free on the right-wing, and he unselfishly set-up substitute Sean McDonald for a simple goal. The league leaders were making full use of their numerical supremacy, and from the resulting attack, Coffey claimed his second goal of the day.
City persevered with their challenge in the latter stages – Ross Welch tested the resolve of Kearns with a long-range strike – and though this is their second consecutive league loss, they remain in the hunt for the play-off spots.
UCD U19: Conor Kearns; Darragh Corcoran, Joe Manley, Luke Boore, Dylan Rowe; Andy O’Reilly, Luka Lovic (Cian Ryan 75); Kevin Coffey (Evan Farrell 75), Conor Crowley (Jack Ryan 61), Neil Farrugia (Simon Power 3); Yoyo Mahdy (Sean McDonald 67).
CORK CITY U19: David Coffey; Dylan Scott (Ross Welch 67), Tomas O’Donovan, Garan Manley, Ronan Hurley; Daire O’Riordan (Brian Mulcahy 72), Pierce Phillips; Cian Murphy, Alec Byrne (Adam O’Sullivan 72), Jordan O’Regan (Denzel Fernandez 67); Aaron Drinan.
Referee: David Berry (Dublin).