Dundalk take giant title leap with win against Cork City

Dundalk 2 Cork City 1: Irish football’s ‘New Firm’ served up some blockbuster entertainment at a throbbing Oriel Park last night but, at the end of a breathless and occasionally breathtaking game, it was reigning champions Dundalk who were doing all the celebrating, their first win this season over arch-rivals Cork City coming at the perfect time to open up a four-point gap at the top of the table with just five games left in the title race.

And with Martin O’Neill in attendance, the critical difference between the two sides was the dazzling Daryl Horgan, who opened the scoring with a sublime free-kick — even if, technically, it goes down as an own goal since it required an unwitting touch from City ‘keeper Mark McNulty to ensure the ball crossed the line — and followed up with a sensational solo effort and goal of the season contender.

The irony, of course, is that City are the club who lost Horgan to Dundalk while, by contrast, the league’s leading scorer, Sean Maguire, who made the journey in reverse, had a rare evening to forget. In this episode of ‘The Ex-Files’, it was Horgan who possessed the supernatural edge.