O’Neill leads City charge
Both sides went into the tie rooted to the bottom of the table with only two points from six games and with identical goals scored and conceded. And City will feel they can kick on from here as two goals within three first half minutes put them on their way to a confidence boosting victory.
Both managers made wholesale changes from the sides that exited the EA Sports Cup on Easter Monday. City boss Tommy Dunne, who has been chopping and changing in recent weeks as he looks for a winning formation, made six changes from the side that went down so meekly to Limerick 3-0 as he started with a front pairing of Vinny Sullivan and O’Neill.
Monaghan boss Roddy Collins, who had a spell in charge at Cork, played a shadow side against Sligo and he had his first choice players back.
In a frantic opening to the game, Jordan Keegan had a great chance to put the visitors in front inside the first minute but he skied his effort over the crossbar.
Davin O’Neill had an even better chance from the resultant goalkick but he dallied too long on the ball and gave Darragh Reynor the opportunity to get back and clear off the line when the City striker should have shot earlier.
City keeper Mark McNulty then twice came to his side’s rescue when first he saved well from Danny McGuinness and two minutes later made a terrific save to claw the ball away for a corner just as it looked like nestling in the top corner from Jordan Keegan’s delightful curling effort.
In between, Reynor again came to Monaghan’s rescue when he hacked off the line from O’Neill’s downward header after a great cross from Gearoid Morrissey.
Daryl Horgan put City in front in rather fortuitous circumstances after 29 minutes when he picked the ball up on the halfway line and was allowed run unchallenged before his shot from 25 yards took a huge deflection off Conor McMahon and looped up and nestled in the net after totally wrong-footing Chris Bennion in the Monaghan goal.
Bennion was at fault three minutes later as City doubled their lead when he spilled Morrissey’s long free-kick and Kalen Spillane played the ball back across goal for Davin O’Neill to tap home.
It was all City now and Bennion made a good stop to deny Morrissey and then O’Neill in quick succession as City sensed a long awaited first league win.
It was curtains for Monaghan three minutes into the second-half when Vinny Sullivan made it 3-0 with an opportunistic finish as he touched home Morrissey’s mishit free kick from 12 yards and Keith Quinn received his marching orders for arguing with referee Rob Rogers.
Monaghan almost reduced the deficit when Reynor hit the crossbar with a superb free-kick after 65 minutes but City broke and Horgan broke at speed before releasing Davin O’Neill, who calmly slotted the ball past the outrushing Bennion for goal number four.
O’Neill nearly grabbed a hat-trick soon after but his shot rattled the crossbar from the edge of the box before substitute Tadhg Purcell got in on the scoring act when he finished well six minutes after coming on.
Man of the match O’Neill wasn’t to be denied the match ball however, as he claimed his hat-trick from the penalty spot four minutes from time after Shane Duggan was brought down in the box to complete the rout.
CORK CITY: McNulty; Kavanagh (Turner 70), D Murray, Spillane, D Murphy; Morrissey, Dunleavy, Duggan, D Horgan (O’Connor 75); Sullivan (Purcell 70), O’Neill.
MONAGHAN UNITED: Bennion; Stephen Maher, McMahon (Collins 73), Shaun Maher, Reynor (Marks 73); McGuinness, McDonagh, Quinn, Keegan (Humphey 55); Murphy, O’Connor.
Referee: R Rogers (Dublin)
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