Classy City rip Reds to shreds

Cork City 4 Cliftonville 0

Nevertheless, with nearly a month to go to the start of the Airtricity League, City boss Tommy Dunne is entitled to take great encouragement from the quality and desire his players exhibited, as a brace from Ian Turner and goals from Gearoid Morrissey and Daryl Kavanagh, in front of a crowd of 1,273, gave the home side a thumping four-goal lead going into next week’s second leg in Solitude of this Setanta Cup first round tie.

Cliftonville came south with a reputation as, quite literally, a well-seasoned club, being 12 points clear in the Dankse Bank Premier League, with a League Cup and 100 goals to their credit and still on the hunt for further cup glory. But, with a visit to second-placed Crusaders next up in their league campaign on Saturday, manager Tommy Breslin took the decision to rest a lot of his regulars for this Setanta Cup clash, the starting 11 in Turner’s Cross featuring just two — skipper Eamonn Seydak and striker Liam Boyce — from the side which beat Donegal Celtic 2-0 in the Irish Cup at the weekend.