City find home form but Rovers share spoils

Cork City 1 Shamrock Rovers 1

Rovers came from behind to snatch a draw in a match marred for a brief spell in the second half by an outbreak of stone-throwing between rival supporters. The sharp reaction of Cork's stewards and the gardaí smothered the problem before it could escalate.

City also succeeded in satisfying the home crowd 5,000 in attendance and were unlucky not to score their first home league win since beating Dublin City at the start of the season. They began at a breakneck pace and while Rovers succeeded in lowering the tempo, were always the more urgent in search of goals to the end.

They were accurate and persistent and Rovers struggled to stay the pace as Kevin Doyle led a lively strike force, and with Neale Fenn, George O'Callaghan, Billy Woods and Nigerian winger, Nwankwo, responding positively, Cork carried a forward threat hitherto scarcely hinted at.

Former City keeper Noel Mooney was the busiest man on the pitch in the opening 20 minutes with excellent saves from Colin O'Brien and O'Callaghan.

He could take much of the credit for Cork's failure to take more than one goal from their early spell of dominance. That goal came in the 17th minute. The excellent Doyle took O'Callaghan's astute pass on the left wing and turned inside a tackle onto his right foot before clipping a cross to the far post. Woods out-jumped Stephen Gough and his looping header fell inside the far upright.

It was inevitable that the pace would drop; as Cork's tempo fell, so Rovers got the time and space to find a rhythm. Rovers did not really hit their stride until the second half when they moved Stephen Gough into midfield and operated out of a three-man defence but by then they were level.

Stephen Grant was showing smooth technique and a clever change of pace and his skill on the ball always posed problems for Killian Lordan.

Mark O'Brien found him wide on the left with a crossfield pass in the 27th minute and Grant drew Lordan into the tackle before cutting inside him. He swept across the edge of the penalty area past Nwankwo before hitting a right-foot shot on the turn that flew low outside of goalkeeper Devine's dive.

Cork were hard-done by the referee's refusal to respond to Terry Palmer's 21st minute tackle on Doyle as the ball ran wide and they were only denied a winner by Mooney's extraordinary double save in the 72nd minute.

O'Callaghan chipped a ball across the penalty area from the right. It was deflected by Fenn into the path of Nwankwo, whose shot was parried by Mooney. As Nwankwo met the rebound, Mooney recovered quickly to deny him a second time. Rovers themselves were unlucky not to score when they split the Cork defence in the 68th minute. Grant, always a threat, cut a ball across from the left and Trevor Molloy jumped above Danny Murphy to head narrowly over when a goal looked certain.

Overall a draw was a good result and Cork could take encouragement from the return of John O'Flynn and the outstanding play in midfield of Colin O'Brien.

CORK CITY (4-4-2): Devine; Lordan, Bennett, D. Murray, Murphy; Woods, O'Brien, O'Callaghan, Nwankwo; Doyle (O'Flynn 43), Fenn (Behan 88).

SHAMROCK ROVERS (4-4-2): Mooney; Croly, McGuinness, Palmer, Gough; O'Brien, O'Halloran, Caffrey (Doyle 56), Grant; Robinson, Molloy.

Referee: Mr I. Stokes (Dublin).