Waterford blow Cork away with explosive start

Waterford United 3 Cork City 0

Two goals within five minutes of kick-off established Waterford’s claims to the points, and Cork could do nothing to undermine their position.

The atmospheric storm of wind and rain relented in time for the start but Cork ran into another of Waterford’s making. They were so ill-equipped to deal with it that they were virtually blown away before they had time to break sweat.

There was much to admire about Waterford’s performance. It was made special by the contributions of Wayne Fitzgerald in central midfield and by the skill of Neal Fenn at centre-forward. There was a drive and an urgency to the work of Fenn and his dynamic partner, Daryl Murphy, that made Cork’s strike force look timid by comparison.

On a night when possession often seemed more of an embarrassment than an opportunity, Cork lapsed too regularly into error in defence.

Waterford punctured the shell-shocked Cork defence with such ridiculous ease, they must have wondered why Cork bothered to put in an appearance. They were quick, direct and above all, they were accurate in their build-up and finishing.

The match was scarcely two minutes old when John Frost won a tackle on half-way and Wayne Fitzgerald surged on to the loose ball. He drove with real conviction at the heart of the Cork defence, and with Cork retreating he penetrated to the edge of the penalty box before ripping a left-foot shot beyond goalkeeper Michael Devine.

The strong wind that blew into Cork’s faces was obviously a consideration as Cork found difficulty in clearing their lines, but an exuberant Waterford were soon back. This time Daryl Murphy worked his way to the dead-ball line on the right, and when he cut the ball back, Kevin O’Brien met it cleanly to score from 16 yards.

This was no contest, this was a rout. Scarcely five minutes on the clock and Waterford were strolling it.!

It should have been better for Waterford within another four minutes as Kevin O’Brien’s low cross from the right was dummied by Fenn but Murphy toe-poked the ball weakly into Devine’s hands from eight yards.

Cork looked as vulnerable as a bird with a broken wing, and Waterford swooped hawkishly about their penalty area fin where they found rich pickings. But as Cork came to terms with the conditions and cranked their passing game into gear, so the flow was reversed and Waterford were forced to defend for the 25 minutes before half-time.

Their discomfort as Cork retained the ball well was reflected in yellow card bookings for Wayne Fitzgerald, John Frost and David Breen. But Cork spurned the scoring chances in profligate style, their inability to strike effectively was evident as Denis Behan, Dan Murray, twice, and Derek Coughlan all failed miserably to trouble goalkeeper Dan Connor despite being afforded free headers within the six yards box.

Cork were made to regret these opportunities as Waterford stepped up their game again in the second half. Fitzgerald and Mark Clifford worked with a will in central midfield, Fenn turned on the style with some delightful football and together with the pacey Daryl Murphy caused the Cork defence endless trouble.

The wonder was that Waterford had to wait until the 71st minute for their third goal.

The manner of its arrival mirrored the misery of the Cork defence as Murray was robbed by Fenn while attempting to dribble out of his own penalty area. Fenn’s shot from 18 yards seemed covered by Devine but the ball squirmed through his hands and over the line.

WATERFORD UNITED (4-4-2): Connor; Leahy, Breen, Mulcahy, Frost; O’Brien, Clifford, Fitzgerald (Reilly 80), Waters; Fenn, Murphy (Sullivan 86).

CORK CITY (4-4-2): Devine; Horgan (Nwankwo 64), Coughlan, D. Murray, Woods; Doyle, C. T. O’Brien, O’Halloran, Kearney (O’Grady 34); Behan (C. P. O’Brien 74), O’Callaghan.

Referee: Mr P. Tuite (Dublin).