O'Donovan penalty secures win for Cork

Cork City 1 St. Patrick’s Athletic 0

Roy O’Donovan returned with a bang for Cork City to hit a second half penalty winner and inflict a first league defeat of the season on leaders St. Patrick’s Athletic at Turner’s Cross.

The win gets 2005 champions Cork back into the title race as they are now six points behind John McDonnell’s early pacesetters in third place. The result will also please Drogheda United who will go top if they beat bottom of the table Waterford United at the RSC tomorrow night.

The only goal came on 68 minutes when O’Donovan, running through onto Darragh Ryan’s long ball, had his shirt tugged by Saints’ defender Stephen Paisley.

Referee Dave McKeon pointed to the spot and sent off Paisley. O’Donovan confidently sent keeper Barry Ryan the wrong way from the penalty - his 12th goal of the season and his seventh in the league.

The result was no more than a resurgent Cork deserved as they ran the game for good spells.

In a poor spectacle of a first half the first real note didn’t arrive until the 24th minute when O’Donovan got away with a push on Stephen Brennan, cut past Darragh Maguire only to curl a shot wide.

Cork remained on top but were almost caught on the break five minutes before the interval.

Stephen Brennan sent Joseph Nod away and he played a one-two with skipper Keith Fahey before side-footing just wide of Michael Devine’s left-hand post.