Ragged City ride luck to go through on aggregate

Cork City 0 FK Ekranas 1 (City win 2 –1 on aggregate)

Maybe it was the 3-5-2 Ekranas formation or the tempo of European football, but there was something ponderous even pedestrian about City's play, particularly in the opening half.

City's play lacked fluency with any semblance of continuity broken up by either side's propensity in making poor passes. Allied to this was a free-ridden first-half with heavy challenged the order of the evening.

Ekranas 15 points clear of Kaunas who troubled Liverpool two nights ago came with the intention of breaking the deadlock early and there was a chink of hope for the Lithuanians seven minutes in when Joe Gamble lost possession to Povilas Luksys and, with the ball fed through to Vitalijus Kavaliauskas and finally Mantas Savenas, the midfielder struck high over McNulty's crossbar.

Cork appeared a side nerved by the occasion, failing to mirror their resplendent league form. Neale Horgan and Danny Murphy toiled constantly up the flanks but their deliveries failed to create an opening.

George O'Callaghan couldn't direct a viciously in-swinging Murphy free-kick in the 10th minute and a minute later the left back swung in a corner that the Ekranas goalkeeper almost punched into his own net.

Roy O'Donovan, who was struggling on the right flank, latched onto a Neale Horgan pass, but the winger's snap-shot was hit right and wide.

Greg O'Halloran was the most impressive of the City's midfielders and created an opening for O'Flynn, but his cross was in vain with no player waiting in the box. O'Halloran took some of the responsibility himself and a fine strike from outside the box flew just over the Ekranas crossbar.

Ekranas's attacking abilities were far from memorable either, but this was more down to the diligent play of Alan Bennett in defence whose subtle and understated tackling though going unnoticed by many proved vital in negating the Ekranas attack.

If there is to be a miss of the season it came in the 47th minute. O'Callaghan made a good break up the right, squared for O'Donovan and with Ekranas suffering an over lap Kearney turned up in the box for the pass but this shot blazed over the bar.

It should have sunk the Baltic side who instead silenced the Cross in the 59th minute. From a 35 yard free, Mantas Savenas curled in a shot that should have been cleared; instead Arunas Klimavicius rose highest. First it hit the upright and then crossed the line as McNulty scrambled the ball back over the whitewash.

And Ekranas could have brought the tie to extra-time in the 74th minute if Povilas had nudged a shot beyond McNulty, but the Cork keeper blocked bravely. City lived dangerously in the last 10 minutes though Ekranas were far from precise or ruthless with their finishing.

CORK CITY: M Mculty; N Horgan, A Bennett, D Murray, D Murphy; R O'Donovan(C O'Brien 88), J Gamble, G O'Halloran, L Kearney (B Woods 92); G O'Callaghan, J O'Flynn.

FK EKRANAS: A Skrupskis; A Skroblas, A Klimavicius, G Paulauskas; D Saulenas (k Mykolaitas), M Gardziyauskas, M Savenas, G Tomkevicius, V Mizigurskis (D Galkevicius 58); V Kavaliauskas, P Luksys.

Referee: G Wildhaber (Switzerland).