Cork City 1-1 Shelbourne: Duff’s men suffer another setback after an inspired Rebel Army performance at Turner’s Cross.
Damien Duff warned his team that there was “fire coming” ahead of Shelbourne’s trip to Turner’s Cross and the reprisal of a longstanding rivalry between the two clubs. The fire was certainly provided by a reinvigorated Cork City and a hostile home crowd, while the champions failed to find a spark of their own nor anything to quell the flames of the first half Rebel Army onslaught. A lacklustre opening hour from Shels point of view means a point will be seen as palatable though not ideal, given that they failed to grasp the opportunity to secure back-to-back victories for the first time since matchday two as Shamrock Rovers sail further into the distance. Alaistair Coote’s long-range equaliser was ultimately enough to cancel out Sean Maguire’s opening goal and deny Ger Nash a victory in his first home game as manager.
KICK OFF:
The visitors were unchanged from their 3-2 victory against Sligo Rovers at Tolka Park last Friday. John Martin retained his place up front having repaid his manager’s faith with a hat-trick at Tolka Park a week ago. Meanwhile, the only alteration to the Cork City line-up that lost in Galway saw the reintroduction of Sean Maguire to the starting XI for the first time since the 3rd of March. His return to fitness is a welcome boost for Ger Nash and a luxury not afforded to his predecessor Tim Clancy since the third game of the season.
City felt the benefit of their star forward’s comeback early on as the big-man-little-man combination between himself and Djenairo Daniels worked well to create the first chance of the game on seven minutes, but the latter could only drag his left-footed shot wide. The pair intertwined again minutes later to create a seemingly presentable opportunity before Maguire was sandwiched between two Shelbourne defenders but the Shed End’s baying claims for a penalty were waved away by referee Marc Lynch.
There was a noticeably fiery start to proceedings, fitting of the historical animosity of this fixture. With tackles flying in all over the pitch, Lynch was eventually forced to dip into his pocket as early as the eleventh minute to book Reds’ centre-back Kameron Ledwidge for a late challenge. City started confidently, dominating the ball in the opposition half and pressing with intensity in what was arguably the strongest opening quarter of a game they’ve displayed all season. The Rebel Army spent a sizeable portion of the first half hour in the final third but never managed to test Lorcan Healy. The closest they came was a dipping Evan McLaughlin curler from the corner of the area that skimmed the Shels’ crossbar.
The home side continued to heap the pressure on and were almost rewarded in the 34th minute when, with their first shot on target, Charlie Lyons’ header from an outswinging McLaughlin free-kick forced a fine reaction save from Healy to keep his team level. A litany of blocked shots and half chances followed as a rejuvenated City side held the champions relentlessly on the back foot, the Turner’s Cross crowd buoyed by their team’s energy and enthusiasm.
Shortly after a “tactically useful” break in play for Duff as his keeper called for some on-field attention, all the visitors soon created their first real opening of the game. John O’Sullivan’s sweetly-struck half volley seemed to be heading for the back of the net before Lyons made a crucial headed block. It was one bright moment in a half where the Champions looked anything but befitting that moniker, in truth. The only upside for Duff was that he could address his players in the dressing room whilst still on level terms.
Second Half
Unsurprisingly, the Shels boss felt the need to readjust at half time, and it was more than a tinker, making three substitutions and a change of formation. Mipo Odubeko, James Norris and Patrick Barrett all entered the field as the visitors switched to a back five in a bid to gain control of proceedings. They did so in the initial exchanges of the second period but were unable to create any serious opportunities.
The breakthrough that City had been threatening to make all game finally came in the 57th minute when Milan Mbeng’s driving run down the right flank and deep cross was latched onto by Sean Maguire who powered his header home to give the Rebel Army the lead. It was a well-deserved goal not only for the team but for Maguire who had shown all game exactly what City had been missing for too long this season.
After falling behind, Shels finally began to play with a greater degree of urgency and they quickly saw the benefits of their renewed attacking approach. Alastair Coote, fresh off the bench, picked the ball up around twenty 25 yards from goal and drove his effort past the outstretched arm of Tein Troost and into the back of the City net via the post. The resilience that Duff had praised his team for last week against Sligo became evident and more reflective of a championship winning side. With their tails up, Coote almost found an immediate second but his effort from the edge of the area was blocked by Lyons.
Both sides pushed hard for a winner in the final quarter of an hour, even if there was a lack of clear cut opportunities. Shelbourne held much of the ball while City looked to punish their opponents on the counter. Nash’s substitutions introduced a welcome mix of ability and experience via Greg Bolger as well as pace and creative spark via Malik Dijksteel’s long-awaited return to action. It was another substitute, Rio Shipston who had the best opportunity to win the game just short of the 90th minute but his low driven effort was saved valiantly by Healy.
Four minutes of stoppage time were not enough to separate the two sides and it finished honours even at full time. Ger Nash’s first game at the Cross may not have resulted in the three points the performance merited but it was one which certainly offers the Leesiders a great deal of encouragement ahead of a massively important second half of the campaign. For Damien Duff’s men, however, it is now just two wins from ten and a seemingly insurmountable gap to leaders Shamrock Rovers who look poised to snatch Shelbourne’s crown.
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