Red moon rising as Cork City reclaim top spot
There was a red moon rising last night as Cork moved back ahead of Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division charts.
The Rebels eclipsed the Lilywhites by two points in the table – but having played two more matches that their title rivals.
That’s after Karl Sheppard’s first-double helped the defending champions sink the home team at the Carlisle Grounds.
A new dawn is expected for the Wicklow outfit after their recent financial troubles with St. Joseph’s Boys chairman Niall O’Driscoll now the majority shareholder.
But that wasn’t enough to stop the bottom of the table Seagulls suffering their 20th defeat in 27 league games.
Yet, the players were paid their wages for July yesterday afternoon.
The Leesiders had beaten their Garden County opponents 4-0 in their previous two meeting this season.
Fielding the same starting line-up for the third game in a row, the FAI Cup holders set about making it a treble of victories by taking a 12th-minute lead as Sheppard ended his eight-match goal drought.
Gathering possession wide left, Sheppard turned full-back Sean Harding inside out three times before teeing himself up to drive to the far corner of the net from 20-yards out right-footed for only his fourth top-flight goal this term.
City went close to doubling that cushion in the 20th minute as Garry Buckley’s 14-yard half volley crashed back off the cross-bar after the ball had pinged around the box.
He didn’t miss though ten minutes later.
From a short-corner routine on the right-flank, Barry McNamee’s delivery saw the unmarked Buckley power a free header to the net from close range.
A third almost arrived immediately. Sheppard intercepted Bray keeper Evan Moran’s poor clearance. He then squared inside from the left of the penalty area to the in-rushing McNamee. But with an open goal waiting, the covering Sean Heaney made a last-gasp clearance. It did become 3-0 by the 36th minute.
Damien Delaney returned Moran’s goal-kick with interest. Sheppard held off two Wanderers defenders up the middle and squeezed a low shot past Moran from inside the box.
It could have been a totally different story had the Seasiders not spurned a great chance to hit the front in the eighth minute.
Skipper Gary McCabe fed Jake Ellis who played strike partner Ger Pender in behind the away defence, but from 16-yards, the forward dragged his attempt wide.
Although McNamee hacked clear off his line just after the hour after a goalmouth scramble, City could have easily added to their tally after the interval.
Both Sean McLoughlin (51) and Buckley (59) failed to make the most of free headers before Moran thwarted Graham Cummins off a fierce drive.
However, Wanderers pulled one back in style in the 64th minute when McCabe scored his first goal since May by beating former team-mate Peter Cherrie with a stunning 25-yard free-kick.
Meanwhile new Bray majority shareholder Niall O’Driscoll last night admitted that the Seagulls could take a leaf out of City’s book in terms of re-building the troubled club.
“Based on the support, Cork have re-built their club over the past number of years and made it hugely successful. Hopefully, we can re-create that,” he stated.
“It’s a challenge. But also, a great opportunity. This is about football and building a club. I hold the really strong view that for a football club to be successful in Ireland, it’s got to be about the whole community. It can’t be about self-interest, it’s to cater for everybody.
We’ll have a look, see how things are. Whatever needs to be done, hopefully we’ll make the right decision. I think everyone knows the club needs changes. It’s not a quick-fix. These things don’t happen in a week.”
O’Driscoll also stressed: “The biggest thing that can happen is everybody in Bray and County Wicklow come out and say they want a football club to be proud of. I want to get everyone involved.”
BRAY WANDERERS:
Moran; Kenna, Gorman (Hayes 66), Heaney, Harding, Noone (Gibbons half time), O’Conor, Lynch; McCabe; Pender (Walsh 72), Ellis.
CORK CITY:
Cherrie; Beattie, Delaney, McLoughlin, Griffin (Dunleavy 87); McCormack (Sadlier half time), Keohane; McNamee, Buckley (Daly-Butz 80), Sheppard; Cummins.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Donegal).
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