O’Neill slots winner to sneak Cork past battling Bluebell

A WELL-TAKEN Davin O’Neill goal was enough to give Cork City victory in this FAI Ford Cup third-round replay but the First Division team were pushed all the way in Bray by a Bluebell United side who did the Leinster Senior League proud with a classy performance which deserved more than the pain of cup defeat.

Making light of a slippery pitch, gloomy low cloud and a tiny attendance, both sides went at it with plenty of the required cup passion. An early Gearoid Morrissey drive forced Mark Clohessy, a hero for Bluebell at Turner’s Cross, into a smart diving save while, at the other end, Cork were grateful to left-full John Dineen for a precisely-timed tackle on a treacherous surface to snuff out a threatening move by a lively and purposeful Bluebell side.

In Cork’s 4-5-1 formation, Davin O’Neill was finding plenty of space on the right but the final ball into the box was proving ineffective and when the winger did get a sight of goal, Bluebell’s big defender Niall Donnelly was prepared to put his body in the line of fire for the cause. And with Peter Sherlock outstanding beside him at the heart of defence, the Dubliners belied their nominal minnows status the longer the game went on.