Cork keep pressure on

Cork City 2 Drogheda United 1

The Lilywhites might still be regarded as favourites to win the title on the basis that they have a game in hand and also a superior goal difference, but all John Caulfield’s men can do is maintain maximum pressure by continuing to secure maximum points.

Which is precisely what they did last night, goals from John Dunleavy and Mark O’Sullivan leaving former manager Damien Richardson with nothing but a warm welcome from the fans to show for his return to Leeside as Drogheda boss.

Mind, there was little enough warmth in the feisty touchline exchanges between Richardson and Caulfield when Drogheda’s Gavin Brennan was shown a straight red for a heavy challenge on Josh O’Shea late in the second half. To their credit, the visitors shrugged off that setback to pull one back through Declan O’Brien, making an otherwise comfortable night distinctly uncomfortable for City in the game’s closing minutes.

In the absence of the suspended Colin Healy, club captain John Dunleavy — who has just signed a new contract at the club — pushed up into midfield for Cork, with John Kavanagh coming in at right-back while, with veteran striker Declan O’Brien on the bench, Gavin Brennan played the lone front man role for the visitors.

On a surface made greasy by teeming rain, City began with their customary high-intensity, taking only 13 minutes to fashion the lead. And it was Dunleavy who celebrated his new deal in the best possible way by scoring his first goal of the season, the skipper leaving Micheal Schlingermann flat-footed in the Drogheda goal from 20 yards out, with a low laser-guided shot struck with the inside of his right foot, after the perfect set-up by John O’Flynn.

On the half-hour, O’Flynn thought he’d made it two after being put through by a slide-rule Garry Buckley pass, but the goal was cancelled out by a debatable offside flag. Then, with the Drogheda keeper in no-man’s land after advancing from his line to punch clear, Billy Dennehy spurned the chance to chip him, getting too much under the ball and sending it well over the top of the bar.

Cork might have been dominating yet they looked vulnerable at the back whenever set-pieces allowed Drogheda to get the ball into the box but, for the most part, the visitors were reduced to testing Mark McNulty from distance and, as half-time rolled around, the keeper had yet to be found wanting.

Turner’s Cross rose to acclaim Cork’s comeback queens, the All-Ireland ladies’ football champions, during the break but, though they gave it a right go at the death, Drogheda couldn’t find the inspiration to turn this game around in the second half.

Instead, it was Mark O’Sullivan who put the home side two to the good less than two minutes after the restart. And it was all the striker’s own work too, taking advantage of the ball bouncing over Ciaran McGuigan’s head to turn and bear down on the visitors’ goal.

At first, it looked as if he’d been forced by the last defender to go too wide but, with the combination of tenacity and nose for goal that his been his hallmark all season, O’Sullivan held off the challenge and then had the composure to squeeze a shot from a tight angle inside the far post.

Gavin Brennan’s sending off in the 78th minute incensed Damien Richardson but substitute Declan O’Brien gave the visitors a lifeline three minutes later with a solo effort which capitalised on some lax home defending to reduce the deficit to one.

With Cork dropping ever deeper in the face of the ten men, it all made for a far nervier finish than was strictly necessary for the home side but, in the end, the vast majority in a crowd of 3,023 were able to celebrate — after first heaving a sigh of relief — as City claimed the vital three points.

CORK CITY: McNulty; Kavanagh, D Dennehy, Murray, Gaynor; O’Flynn (O’Shea 62), O’Leary (McSweeney 86), Dunleavy, Buckley, B. Dennehy (Lehane 90); O’Sullivan.

DROGHEDA UNITED: Schlingermann, Doyle, McNally, McGuigan, Grimes; Brady (Wixted 60), Daly, Holohan (Andrews 86), Maher (O’Brien 67), Walshe, Brennan.

Referee: David McKeon (Dublin).