Cork City line up revenge final with Dundalk

By Dave Ludzik

[team1]Cork City[/team1][score1]2[/score1][team2]Bohemians[/team2][score2]1[/score2][/score]

A swashbuckling first-half performance saw Cork City book yet another FAI Cup final date with arch rivals Dundalk at the Aviva Stadium next month after seeing off Bohemians in last night’s semi-final replay at a hopping Turner’s Cross.

Having come in for a lot of criticism lately following a poor run of results, which resulted in surrendering their league title, John Caulfield’s men showed exactly why they are 25 points ahead of Bohs in the table as they completely dominated the first half to go in two goals to the good.

Bohs, however, made a game of it in the second half after Ian Morris’s bolt from the blue, but, despite looking under pressure for a while, City held firm, with McNulty relatively untroubled, to keep their cup dreams alive.

Keith Long’s side will feel aggrieved after conceding, in their eyes, a contentious late penalty in the first game, which Kieran Sadlier converted to force the replay.

However, they were second best for long periods last night, as Caulfield’s side showed their hunger to finish the season with another piece of silverware and deny Dundalk another double.

It will be the fourth year on the trot that City and Dundalk will lock horns at the Aviva, with the Leesiders looking to make it three in-a-row and banish the memories of the poor performance against Stephen Kenny’s side a couple of weeks ago, which put the final nail in their bid to retain their league title.

The cup holders received a boost before kick-off when Sadlier was passed fit to play after being forced off at half-time in Friday’s night’s 0-0 draw with Shamrock Rovers.

Caulfield made wholesale changes in Tallaght on Friday, with Sadlier the only survivor from that drawn game in last night’s starting XI. The side was similar to the one that drew at Dalymount, with the injured Steven Beattie being replaced by Conor McCarthy and Graham Cummins returning to spearhead the attack in place of Ronan Coughlan.

Bohemians’ 3-1 defeat at home to Waterford on Friday ended a remarkable 10-game unbeaten run for Long’s side, who rested all his big guns with this game in mind.

Long made nine changes against Waterford from the side that drew with City, with Dan Casey and Dan Kelly starting but only because they were suspended for this replay.

Rob Cornwall and Danny Grant came back into the side in place of the suspended duo, as Long’s Gypsies looked to book a place in their first FAI Cup final since beating Derry City on penalties at The RDS in 2008.

Caulfield was back in the dugout last night after being forced to watch the Rovers game from the stand, following his ban after being sent off by Neil Doyle against Dundalk. Doyle was the man in the middle again last night, as the two renewed acquaintances.

With so much on the line, the away end was packed last night, with 700 Bohemians fans making the trip to Cork, which added to the cracking atmosphere at the famous old venue.

City have been slow to get out of the starting blocks in a lot of games this season, but they were at it from the start last night as they put Bohs under pressure from the off, with Long’s side being pegged deep inside their own half.

Having forced four corners in the opening 15 minutes, Sean McLaughlin had the first meaningful effort on goal, but his header from Sadlier’s corner was easily held by Shane Supple in the Bohs goal.

City had the lion’s share of possession from the start and their pressure eventually told in the 30th minute, when Bohs failed to deal with Shane Griffin’s free-kick from just inside the Bohs half and Cummins stooped low to head the ball past Supple in front of the Shed end.

It was no more than City deserved and it was 2-0 seven minutes later, when Cummins beat Morris in the air to flick on Mark McNulty’s long kick and Sheppard was onto the ball in a flash to take it around the advancing Supple to stroke home.

Bohemians started the second half a lot better and were back in the game in the 59th minute with an unbelievable strike from Morris. There looked to be little danger on when centre-back Morris advanced from inside his own half, but he let fly from 40 yards out and his thunderbolt beat McNulty and came back off the underside of the crossbar and over the line.

It was a magnificent strike, which would grace any occasion and had the home side worried for a while.

However, Caulfield introduced the calming influence of Conor McCormack to shore things up and, despite having to see out a nervy five minutes of additional team, his side comfortably held out to book another cup final appearance.

“It’s unreal,” Cummins reflected of City’s achievement. “That’s what I came back for, to get to finals like that.

It was a hard game. In the second half, Bohs really came at us. We expected that. I thought we were excellent in the first half.

“I didn’t care who scored tonight once we got over the line and won. Fair play to the guys, they dug in at the end. That’s all that matters.”

CORK CITY: McNulty, McCarthy, Bennett, McLaughlin, Griffin, Sheppard (Barry 88), Keohane, Morrissey (McCormack 66), Buckley, Sadlier (McNamee 77), Cummins.

BOHEMIANS: Supple, Pender, Morris, Cornwall, Leahy, Grant (Reghba 77), Ward (Stokes 86), Buckley (Byrne 90), Lunney, Devaney, Corcoran.

Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).