City cling to title dream

Cork City 3 Drogheda United 2

With three points now between themselves and eircom Premier League leaders Shelbourne and two games each left, City manager Pat Dolan is not giving anything up and, he insists, neither are his players. But Shels are still in the driving seat and this league is theirs to win or lose.

Dolan conceded that Shels probably had the easier run-in with games against Waterford on Friday and St. Pat's next week, while City face a return away to Drogheda on Friday and a final outing against Bohemians.

However, he is still of the belief that his side are in the hunt and reckons anything can happen in those crucial two games.

"Who knows what can happen in football and we certain still think we can do it. But, this result has qualified us for Europe and we'll see what happens next."

It was a big night for both sides and it was filled with drama five goals and two red cards but City just got home in the end and now wait to see what fate has in store for them.

The 5,000 crowd were treated to an action-packed start. Just four minutes gone and City were a man down and a goal behind.

Alan Bennett was the one seeing red, however, after a Danny O'Connor cross caught him out. The ball flighted over Bennett's shoulder and he stuck out a leg in an attempt to effect a backpass to Devine, making his 100th consecutive appearance in the City goal. There may not have been enough pace on the ball, but Declan O'Brien showed plenty, scorching past Bennett and bearing down ominously on the Shed-end goal. A despairing Bennett grabbed O'Brien and brought him down. Referee McKeon had no hesitation in sending him off.

As if that wasn't bad enough for the home side, Andy Myler stepped up and planted the free-kick firmly beyond Devine's reach from fully 25 metres.

Only a further eight minutes elapsed before City were level. Having won a free-kick just inside the Drogheda half after being fouled by Aidan Lynch, George O'Callaghan floated the ball in and towering skipper Dan Murray rose unopposed to head home.

Cork's John O'Flynn was next to get the crowd on its feet when he latched onto a poor O'Connor backpass, but put his shot to the right of Tony O'Dowd's goal. But the hopes of the home crowd were further dampened when O'Connor once more exposed Cork's apparent vulnerability to the high ball.

His looping clearance saw O'Brien once again demonstrate his pace and, with the Cork defence vainly waiting for an offside flag from referee's assistant Rhona Daly, he cheekily lobbed Devine for Drogheda's second.

But then O'Brien ruined a potential man-of-the-match performance when referee McKeon saw him barge George O'Callaghan off the ball and immediately produced his second red card of the night.

The icy look he got from manager Paul Doolin as he left the pitch told its own story.

Back on level terms, at least in terms of personnel, City pressed forward and Joe Gamble came close with a header on 26 minutes which O'Dowd missed, but O'Connor got a head to, saving the day.

Nine minutes later City were level on all fronts. O'Halloran fed in a long ball to O'Flynn, who beat the offside trap and, although O'Dowd got a hand on his shot, it was not enough to keep it out.

Into the second-half and it was all to play for, but the crowd did not have to wait long for more action as O'Callaghan robbed O'Connor who was attempting to usher the ball out of play near his own goal-line. The Cork midfielder squared a lovely ball which O'Flynn mis-hit, but the inrushing Liam Kearney placed it coolly into the bottom left corner.

City had finally gained an upper hand, but they somehow seemed reluctant to press home the advantage. Denied the pace of O'Brien up front, Drogheda were living on scraps one such coming from another Myler free-kick which found Sullivan unmarked in the box, but the midfielder could only hit the side netting.

Cork responded on 71 minutes when O'Flynn hit the outside of the post, but the second-half was not living up to the excitement of the first, either in tempo or incident. Both sides probed and harried, certainly, but to little effect.

Drogheda had one last chance and Alan Reilly headed against the bar in the 89th minute, but that was it and City came away with the vital points.

CORK CITY: Devine; Horgan, Bennett, Murray (capt.), O'Halloran; Woods, O'Callaghan, Gamble, Kearney; Doyle, O'Flynn (Behan, 87 mins).

DROGHEDA UNITED: O'Dowd; O'Connor, Gray, Lester; Sullivan (Bird, 67 mins), Freeman (Whelan, 67 mins), Lynch (Molloy, 54 mins), Reilly Sandvliet; Myler, O'Brien.

Referee: D. McKeon (Dublin).

Coca-Cola Football League Championship: Leicester 3 (Nalis 26, Tiatto 45, Heath 72) Coventry 0.