Cork City 1-2 Limerick

• Simon O'Gorman
• Sat, Jun 26 2010


Cork City began the second half of the season with a fourth home league defeat against a Limerick side that thoroughly deserved their 2-1 win at Turner’s Cross on Friday night.

As was to be expected after the mid-season break the game started slowly with Cork in particular taking time to bed in the three new signings that manager Tommy Dunne threw into their starting line-up. And after just ten minutes it was City’s debutant centre back Gavin Kavanagh who lost track of Pat Purcell at a Limerick corner with disastrous results.

It was Thomas Lyons who floated the ball in from the left and as Purcell’s header flew towards the goal-line, mayhem ensued. The initial block at the near post fell to Limerick striker Daryl Kavanagh who shot was also blocked. Limerick then had a further two efforts knocked out before Nigel Stanley finally headed the ball over the line.

With Timmy Kiely offering attacking options on the right flank and Daryl Kavanagh looking particularly dangerous up front Limerick’s travelling support had good reason to be optimistic. But after just sixteen minutes the home side were level.

Billy Woods won a challenge with Sean Kelly inside the Limerick penalty area and drove the ball across the box. There were no Cork players to take advantage but, under little pressure, Limerick left back John Boyle skewed his clearance in the wrong direction and it rolled past Dave Ryan and into the visitor’s goal.

The remainder of the half was highly entertaining with both sides playing good, attacking football. Woods combined well with Graham Cummins on the left to set up Gearoid Morrissey after 24 minutes but the Cork midfielder’s shot was weak. Then some excellent play by Kavanagh set up John Tierney at the other end. His shot was parried by McNulty and fell to ex-Cork man Kiely whose drive from the edge of the area cannoned away off the knee of Stephen Mulcahy.

On 34 minutes Greg O’Halloran set off on a run through the middle of the park that resulted in a chipped shot from the edge of the box that just failed to clear Ryan in the Limerick goal and if, just two minutes later, Tierney had composed himself a little more he might have done better than shoot narrowly wide of the Cork goal.

From the restart it was Limerick who looked the sharper. Seventeen year old David O’Leary, who came on to replace the injured Thomas Lyons, entered the fray seamlessly and in the 53rd minute Limerick’s greater command of the game reaped it’s reward.

John Tierney worked his way in from the right and having outpaced Gavin Kavanagh, slipped the ball across the six yard box where Shane Tracy had the simplest job to stab home into an empty net.

Nor did Limerick release their grip on a game in which Cork’s first half efforts seemed at odds with their second half performance. Limerick showed all the guile and were first to the ball too often for the home side to create any effective pressure.

In the 70th minute Limerick put together a sublime piece of play that started with a central run from David O’Leary and ended with a diving header from substitute Shane Clarke that went narrowly wide. It was a move that deserved a better finish.

Cork spent the final twenty minutes working hard to fashion an unlikely draw and they did create a number of chances but there was a desperation about their play that owed more to hope than conviction.

Ian Turner found himself within sight of goal in the 72nd minute but his shot was deflected for a corner that came to nothing. Substitute Derek Varian also had a pop at goal with nine minutes left to play but his shot whistled over the bar.

As the final seconds of the four added minutes ticked by, Cork threw everything forwards and a Paul Deasy free was headed forcefully into the Limerick box by Woods. Varian met it sweetly but again the ball flew over the crossbar and Limerick crossed the line for three deserved points.

Cork City : Mark McNulty; Ian Turner, Stephen Mulcahy, Gavin Kavanagh, John Meade (Paul Deasy, 90); Billy Woods, Greg O’Halloran, Cillian Lordan, Gearoid Morrissey (Derek Varian, 73), Davin O’Neill; Graham Cummins.
Subs not used: Danny O’Leary, Neal Horgan, Dave Warren, Paul Deasy.
Bookings: O’Halloran (44), G Kavanagh (74)

Limerick FC: Dave Ryan; Sean Kelly, John Boyle, Peter White, Nigel Stanley; Pat Purcell, Daryl Kavanagh, Thomas Lyons (David O’Leary, HT), Timmy Kiely; Shane Tracy (Shane Clarke, 66), John Tierney (Martin Deady, 79).
Subs not used: David McGrath, John McGuinness.
Bookings: White (88).

extratime.ie Man of the Match: Daryl Kavanagh.
Referee: John Grimes.
Attendance: 500 (estimate).