Report by Keith O'Dwyer, Courtesy of The ligo Weekender

Cork City 2, Sligo Rovers 0

Tues 2 May 2006, Turners Cross

A more clinical edge in front of goal proved to be enough for Cork City to claim all three points in their eircom League Premier Division encounter against Sligo Rovers which was played in Turners Cross last Tuesday night.

The Premier Division champions, who won 2-0, were the better side in the first-half, but the second-half introduction of striker Darren Mansaram and midfielder Chris Turner saw Rovers take control and, despite creating a number of half-chances, they failed to get the goal that their play deserved.

Despite initial injury concerns over Liam Burns and Gary Curran, the visitors started with the same side that drew 1-1 with Shelbourne the previous Saturday night at The Showgrounds.
Cork took the lead in the seventh minute as Rovers failed to defend assuredly from a set-piece. Neale Fenn sent over a corner from the right and Cork’s captain, Dan Murray, stole away to head the ball into the top corner.

Rovers responded well to going behind and created a good opening in the 11th minute. They won a free-kick on the right and a well-worked routine saw Keith Foy step over the ball – leaving it for Fahrudin Kudozovic, who crossed into the box to find Conor O’Grady, whose header was too close to Cork goalkeeper Michael Devine.

In the 22nd minute full-back Gavin Peers ventured forward from defence and a burst of pace saw him go past Danny Murphy. Peers then put in a cross which was met by a diving header from striker Paul McTiernan – but again Devine was well-positioned to make the save.

Fenn was proving to be the pivotal player for Cork in the first-half and in the 22nd minute he took a pass from Murphy and a nice piece of skill created space for a long-range shot that was saved by John O’Hara.

Rovers should have been on level terms in the 34th minute. Kudozovic played the ball across from the left to O’Grady who threaded it through to McTiernan. The striker should have shot first time, but he opted for an extra touch and the ball got tangled between his feet before it was cleared.
Cork scored their second in the 41st minute. Alan Bennett played a long ball forward which was knocked down by Denis Behan to Fenn – who looked to exchange passes with Behan – but the ball rebounded kindly off Liam Burns to put Fenn in on goal. He scored with a sublime finish – curling the ball inside the post with the outside of his right foot.

Rovers made two changes at half-time with Darren Mansaram and Chris Turner replacing Paul McTiernan and Gary Curran respectively. Their introduction changed the flow of the game, mainly in favour of the visitors.

Rovers had the first chance of the second-half when, in the 48th minute, Mansaram laid the ball out to the left to Matthew Judge and his crossfield pass found Adam Hughes, who shot first time but over.

Cork were finding it harder to create clear-cut chances in the second-half but they did have some opportunities. Fenn had a lob from outside the box that landed on the roof of the net and a Behan free-kick from 25 yards went through the wall but safely into the arms of John O’Hara.
Turner went close for Rovers in the 73rd minute as he took a pass from Hughes and was unlucky to see his well-struck shot from 25 yards shave the outside of the post.
Rovers made their final substitution in the 75th minute when Sean Flannery replaced O’Grady, the former Cork midfielder.

Manager Sean Connor also changed his formation with the team going from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3. Flannery joined Hughes and Judge up front, with Mansaram, Turner and Kudozovic as the three-man midfield.

Rovers were dominating in terms of possession and they finished strongly. They had another good opening in the 88th minute as Mansaram did well to put over a cross from the left which Flannery was waiting to put in at the near post – but Murray reacted well as his diving header put the ball behind for a corner.

In second-half stoppage-time, a Peers free-kick from inside his own half dropped kindly in the penalty area for Mansaram, but his excellent half-volley was saved by Devine.

Player of the Match: Darren Mansaram

Cork City: Michael Devine, Neal Horgan, Alan Bennett, Dan Murray, Danny Murphy, Roy O’Donovan, George O’Callaghan (Admir Softic 75), Colin T O’Brien, Joe Gamble, Denis Behan (Billy Woods 84), Neale Fenn
Subs not used: Cillian Lordan, Vinny Sullivan, Mark McNulty.

Sligo Rovers: John O’Hara, Gavin Peers, Keith Foy, Michael McNamara, Liam Burns, Conor O’Grady (Sean Flannery 75), Adam Hughes, Fahrudin Kudozovic, Matthew Judge, Paul McTiernan (Darren Mansaram 45), Gary Curran (Chris Turner 45)
Subs not used: Jamie McKenzie, Richard Brush