Ports do Shels a favour

Cork City 0 Portadown 1

Both sides finished with ten men Cork goalkeeper Mark McNulty and Portadown striker Gary Hamilton having been sent off on a dramatic, highly-charged night at Turner's Cross which ultimately brought nothing but frustration for Damien Richardson's men.

Although fielding a side weakened by injury and suspension, and with nothing left to play for in the competition but pride, Portadown manager Ronnie McFall had promised that his IFA Cup winners would give it their best shot at Turner's Cross.

For his part, knowing that City needed to win by two clear goals or alternatively by a minimum one-goal victory margin of 4-3 or higher, Cork boss Damien Richardson had appealed for patience from an expectant home crowd.

But they didn't have to wait too long to see the ball in the back of the Portadown net.

The match was only eleven minutes old when City forced a corner, Colin O' Brien picked up a headed clearance and struck the ball with power from 25 yards out. Portadown 'keeper Paul Murphy could only parry and Kevin Doyle tapped the rebound into an empty net only to have his celebrations cut short by a contentious offside flag.

Three minutes later, it was Cork's turn to breathe a sigh of relief.

Stand-in goalkeeper Mark McNulty, in for the suspended Michael Devine, failed to get his hands to Gary Hamilton's corner, and Darren Kelly, rising at the back post, headed against the bar before the danger was cleared.

Cork were applying most of the pressure, with Kearney and O' Donovan always looking menacing on the flanks, but on the half-hour mark, a muscular Portadown side gave another warning that they weren't here just to make up the numbers when the transfer-listed Gary Hamilton got in behind the Cork defence but could only fire onto the roof of the net.

Just one minute later, the visitors stunned the home crowd.

Again, it was the wantaway striker who was at the centre of the action, Hamilton racing onto a Michael Collins pass which split the Cork defence, to flash home a splendid half-volley from the edge of the box.

But within ten minutes, the hero turned villain, when he brought down George O' Callaghan in midfield and in the hot-tempered afters that followed, referee John Feighery apparently saw enough to hand a straight red card to the Portadown striker. Hamilton, who was probably making his last appearance for the club, departed the scene with an 'up yours' gesture to the baying home support.

With three goals now required to secure a place in the final, Cork City faced an uphill task even with Portadown reduced to ten men. The second half began as it would continue with almost relentless pressure on the visitors' goal, striker Vinny Arkins frequently having to drop back to add his height to the rearguard cause, as City forced keeper Paul Murphy into repeated action but couldn't find a way through the blanket defence.

Damien Richardson threw on John O' Flynn for Neal Horgan on 67 minutes and Joe Gamble for Colin O' Brien four minutes later, but Cork frustration knew no end as Portadown defended resolutely and an inspired Murphy saved spectacularly to keep out a point-blank Dan Murray header and then, after the resultant corner, tipped over a Liam Kearney drive.

Next, Roy O' Donovan raced into box but his shot from an acute angle hit the base of a post.

For all their possession and pressure, that was as close as Cork came to grabbing even a consolation goal on a night which ended in further ignominy for the Leesiders when, on the stroke of 90 minutes, Mark McNulty was red-carded for bringing down Peter McCann outside his box, and with Richardson having used all his subs, Billy Woods was forced to see out the dying seconds in goal.

So it's the reds of Portadown who have ensured that the reds of Dublin will contest the Setanta Cup final and its lucrative winner's prize of 150,000.

Shels will now meet either Linfield or Glentoran who play in the Group 1 decider tonight at Tolka Park next Saturday.

CORK CITY: McNulty, Bennett, Murray, O' Brien (Gamble 71), O' Callaghan, Woods, O' Donovan, Horgan (O' Flynn 67), Kearney, Doyle, Behan (Fenn 81)

PORTADOWN: Murphy, Craig, Alderdice, Clarke, Kelly, Lindsay, McCann, Boyle, Hamilton, Collins, Arkins

Referee: John Feighery