Cork City have advanced to the semi-finals of the EA Sports Cup after a dramatic victory over St. Patrick’s Athletic today at Turner’s Cross.
Derek O’Brien started for the second game in a row, while Greg O’Halloran, Gavin Kavanagh and Neal Horgan all returned to the starting eleven.
With the game being a cup quarter-final and Premier Division opposition at the ‘Cross, it was the ideal time for Tommy Dunne’s men to test their mettle.
The opening stages were even, with the Leesiders more than holding their own. Vincent Escudé-Candau whipped a ball across the face of goal from the left but there was no one there to tap it into the net. St. Pat’s thought they had taken the lead shortly after when Paul Crowley got on the end of a cross and the ball ended up in Mark McNulty’s goal, but it was ruled out for offside.
The Leesiders took the lead midway through the half. Escudé-Candau played the ball to Derek O’Brien on the left. He looked to be going nowhere, but shifted the ball onto his right and fired an unstoppable strike right into the top corner. Kalen Spillane wasted an excellent chance to double the lead, Cummins put the ball to his feet around 4 yards from goal and somehow he mis-hit his shot and it went wide.
The away side almost equalised if it wasn’t for the impressive McNulty, Daryl Kavanagh lofted a beautiful chip goalwards from the edge of the box, but the City shot-stopper palmed the ball out for a corner. In injury time in the first half O’Brien combined with Cummins to find the City winger through on goal but his deft shot was cleared off the line by Ian Bermingham.
The equaliser arrived shortly after the restart. Seán Stewart dinked the ball into the box from the left, and Neil Harney nodded the ball home to send the travelling Pat’s fans into raptures.
Their lead was short lived, and just after the hour mark the Rebel Army took the lead once again. Escudé-Candau supplied Cummins, he wriggled his way through a barage of Pat’s defenders, and curled his shot into off the post past Bennion. City had one foot in the semi-final thanks to yet another Cummins goal.
Dunne’s troops held strong, but is was McNulty who was the hero deep into added time. David Mulcahy got on the end of a corner kick and struck a powerful drive towards goal but it was saved, Kavanagh latched onto the rebound but once again McNulty denied the Saint’s of a second goal.
Cork City
Starting Line-Up: Mark McNulty; Stephen Mulcahy, Kalen Spillane, Gavin Kavanagh, Neal Horgan; Gearóid Morrissey, Greg O’Halloran, Vincent Escudé-Candau, Shane Duggan, Derek O’Brien; Graham Cummins.
Substitutions: Ian Turner for Morrissey (86mins). Subs not used: Jamie Murphy, Danny Morrissey, Eoin McGreevy, James McCarthy, Kieran Kenneally, Simon Holland.
St. Patrick’s Athletic
Starting Line-Up: Chris Bennion; Neil Harney, Evan McMillan, David Mulcahy, Ian Bermingham; Paul Crowley, Stephen Bradley, Shane McFaul, Sean Stewart; Daryl Kavanagh, Daniel North.
Substitutions: James O’Brien for McFaul (77mins), Mark Logan for Stewart (88mins), Anthony Murphy for Crowley (88mins). Subs not used: David McMillan, Ian Daly, Jake Carroll, Gary Rogers.
Referee: P.Sutton.
Attendance: 1,077.
Photos: Click Here.
