In the club’s very first League of Ireland game, Cork City Football Club claimed a point in a tough trip to the Brandywell against Derry City.
Most of the Leesiders’ new signings were bound to the stands due to international clearance not being received in time, but that didn’t stop the starting eleven in grinding out a valuable draw. Wesley Tong and John Dineen were the only occupants of the Cork City Football Club substitutes bench.
The opening stages of the game lacked any real goal scoring opportunities, with both sides seeming to find their feet with their first games in the second tier. Derry stalwart Barry Malloy had the first effort on goal on the half hour mark, but he fired well wide of the target.
The Candystripe’s began to impose themselves on the game, but the away side showed their were always a danger of scoring when Greg O’Halloran rose highest to get on the end of Eoin Forde’s corner kick. Doherty made the easy save.
Davin O’Neill broke the deadlock just after the restart with a classy finish from inside the area. Willie Heffernan provided the cross, and O’Neill made no mistake in looping the ball over Doherty’s head with the ball nestling int he bottom corner of the net, sending the away fans into hysteria.
The joy was short lived, as lest than 15 minutes later, Emmett Friars equalised for Derry with a stunning header after Ruairi Harkin’s free kick.
It was backs to the wall for the last few minutes for the Cork side, Stephen Parkhouse coming close with a header but Mark McNulty was on hand with the vital save, and secured the point.
Photo by: Peadar O’Sullivan.
Derry City
Scorer: Friars (63mins).
Starting Line-Up: Doherty, McCallion, Friars, Molloy, McChrystal, McEleney, Harkin, Farren, McClean, Sweeney, Scoltock.
Substitutes: Parkhouse for McEleney (53mins), Cassidy for Sweeney (76mins). McDaid, Sharkey, Parkhouse, Cassidy, Ferry.
Cork City Football Club
Scorer: O’Neill (49mins)>
Starting Line-Up: McNulty, Turner, Rogers, Mulcahy, O’Halloran, O’Neill, Deasy, Lordan, Cummins, Forde, Heffernan.
Substitutes: Tong, Dineen.
Referee: Paul Tuite (Dublin).
