Cork City are through to the semi finals of the Munster Senior Cup following a two one win over Waterford at the RSC on Sunday.
The home side started brightly, and twice threatened in the opening five minutes, but they failed to capitalise on their opportunities and City took advantage to take the lead after just seven minutes. Davin O’Neill, playing on the left wing, ran at the defence and played the ball across the box for Graham Cummins to poke the ball home from close range.
Having taken the lead, City continued to impress, and a Timmy Kiely cross from the right found Vinny Sullivan, but he was unable to connect properly with a header and Waterford cleared. The sides then traded chances, with Waterford twice having shooting opportunities, but City held firm and extended their advantage on 33 minutes through Vinny Sullivan.
The former Waterford player, in his first competitive outing for the club took advantage of the home side losing possession to send an excellent lob over the keeper from over 30 yards to put City two nil ahead. The advantage was short-lived however, as Waterford pulled a goal back within a minute. As the home side attacked, a Waterford player went down after a challenge in the City penalty area and the referee awarded the home side an opportunity for an instant reply. Paul Murphy sent Mark McNulty the wrong way from the penalty spot to bring Waterford back within a goal of City.
City still had chances to restore their two goal lead before the break, but failed to make them count. Davin O’Neill got in behind the defence but had difficulty controlling the ball on an extremely poor surface, and after rounding the Waterford keeper he saw his effort from a difficult angle cleared by the defence. Shane Duggan was next to attempt to restore City’s advantage, but his effort from distance whistled narrowly over the bar, and the last chance of the half fell to Graham Cummins who saw the keeper get down to make an excellent save as the City striker broke through on goal.
While City were on top in the first half, it was Waterford who claimed the ascendancy in the second, and McNulty was twice called into action to keep City ahead, while Kalen Spillane also cleared a shot that looked destined for the net. As the second half wore on, Waterford continued to dominate possession without creating many clear-cut chances, but City still looked dangerous on the break.
With under ten minutes to go, Waterford briefly thought they had equalised, as a header was saved by Mark McNulty whose body landed behind the line. For a moment, it appeared as though the ball had been given, but the referee eventually awarded a free out for a push on the keeper. With Waterford protesting, City broke quickly and Kieran Kenneally found himself with just one defender between him and the goalkeeper, and was brought down on the edge of the box. City failed to take advantage from the free, but Waterford were dealt another blow within minutes, as a bad tackle on Ian Turner saw Michael Coady receive a second yellow card, with City holding out to win the tie.
Waterford United: Kevin Burns; Paul Carey (Kenny Browne 35), David Breen, Seamus Long, Michael Coady; Gary Keane, Gary Dunphy (Conor Sinnott 64), Keith Quinn, Dwayne Wilson (Brian Nolan 76); Willie John Kiely, Paul Murphy.
Cork City: Mark McNulty; Neal Horgan (Ian Turner 79), Gavin Kavanagh, Kalen Spillane, Danny Murphy; Timmy Kiely (Simon Holland 76), Shane Duggan, Gearóid Morrissey, Davin O’Neill; Graham Cummins, Vinny Sullivan (Kieran Kenneally 81).
