Cork City's unbeaten run ended by Damien Duff's Shelbourne
TACTICAL MASTERCLASS: Damien Duff, Shelbourne manager gets a message to Gavin Molloy, during the game against Cork City FC. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Colin Healy didn’t hold back in his critique of Cork City’s first defeat in four, admitting the reverse stemmed from a substandard performance and lack of quality.
Damien Duff’s Reds had only scored twice in five Premier Division games but doubled their tally through Josh Honohan’s own-goal 10 minutes in and Jack Moylan’s first of the season early in the second half.
It was a replica of the opening night at the Cross when City fell two goals behind to Bohemians but this time they couldn’t even conjure a reply on an evening of frustration watched by just over 5,000 fans.
Healy lamented two key moments – Barry Coffey wasting an equalising opportunity and the failure of referee Ray Matthews to award a penalty moments after the second – yet he wasn’t camouflaging deficiencies that eroded credit gained by drawing at both Shamrock and Sligo Rovers in their previous pair of games.
“Their defender made contact with Ruairi Keating and it should be a penalty,” asserted Healy. “We had one given against us last Saturday for Sligo’s equaliser but didn’t get one ourselves tonight.
“Overall, it was a poor performance. We didn’t defend the cross for their first goal and, though they caught us out wide for the second, we still needed to track Moylan the runner.
“Shelbourne were well drilled, as I’d expect from Damien’s teams, but we didn’t look after the ball and the quality wasn’t there tonight.” Healy’s former Ireland teammate Duff was relieved to get his first away win of the campaign.
“It’s brilliant to get a win at a difficult place,” he said of conquering at Turner’s Cross.
“We haven’t scored many goals this season but I’d take 1-0 over 5-0 because it’s still the same three points.
“I feel we’ve some of the best attackers in this league – something I tell them in training all the time – and people got to see that today. The second was an amazing team goal.” JR Wilson’s delivery on seven minutes was intended as a cross but almost caught Jimmy Corcoran out, the goalkeeper reacting late to prevent the ball sneaking over his line.
Three minutes later they hit the front from an unusual source.
Training-ground work undertaken in midweek by Duff and his staff paid off for a short corner routine involving JR Wilson, Matty Smith and Kian Leavy led to the latter hurtling an in-swiging cross.
Honohan outjumped Gavin Molloy but misdirected his header, whizzing the ball past the diving Corcoran. “We have to compensate for a lack of height and we chose to overload at the corner,” explained Ireland centurion Duff.
Shels’ diligent pressing tactic nullified City’s preference for utilising Cian Bargary and Ethon Varian on the flanks and it took a more direct approach two minutes before the break to generate a sight on goal.
A long punt upfield enabled Keating to knock the ball down into the path of Coffey but with the full goal to strike, he snatched at the chance off-balance and blazed his rising shot well over. “At this level, Barry has to at least work the goalkeeper – he knows that too,” noted Healy.
Straight after the restart, Corcoran took no chances by turning Tyreke Wilson’s free out for a corner when it was veering wide but the stopper was helpless to avoid conceding a second on 49 minutes.
A fluid move made its way to Evan Caffrey on the left and he squared along the 18-yard line where Jack Moylan was left all alone. He had time to place his right-footer into the bottom corner and proceeded to celebrate wildly in front of The Shed.
City’s top scorer Keating was in the thick of matters thereafter, bizarrely denied a penalty when floored by Red's captain Luke Byrne just as he was poised to tap home from close range.
The striker also forced Kearns into a smart save from a header following a throw-in special from Bargary, who also whistled a shot wide.
When Keating did get a decision for a free on the edge of the box with two minutes left, his vicious free was blocked by Matty Smith charging out of the wall.
J Corcoran; D Crowley, J Häkkinen, A Gilchrist, J Honohan; C Coleman, M Healy (D Krezic 55), B Coffey (J O’Brien Whitmarsh 82); E Varian (T Owolabi 72), R Keating, C Bargary (G Walker 81).
C Kearns; G Molloy, L Byrne, S Griffin (K Ledwidge 77); JR Wilson, S Farrell (B McManus 11), E Caffrey, K Leavy (K Robinson 65), T Wilson; J Moylan, M Smith.
Ray Matthews (Westmeath).
5,078.
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