Seani Maguire brace salvages draw, rescues Cork City's unbeaten home run
RESCUE MISSION: Seani Maguire, right, and Cian Coleman of Cork City. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Seani Maguire turned super-sub as his second consecutive Turner’s Cross brace rescued Cork City’s unbeaten home league record.
They required a true champions’ response to deny resilient Finn Harps their breakthrough into the play-off places.
Tony McNamee and Success Edogun had given Harps a two-goal half-time lead over an experimental City side but it only lasted until the big guns were called off the bench.
A crowd of 2,765 turned out to welcome home the First Division winners as Harps granted them a guard of honour onto the pitch.
Tim Clancy retained a new-look side as he sat out the final leg of his three-game ban, with absent goal-scorer Jack Doherty was the only change from the 4-1 victory over Kerry.
With Harps needing a result to break into the play-offs, it shaped up for an open game. Hotly contested, too, with 11 yellow cards across the evening.
Teenage goalkeeper Oisín Cooney produced two clean sheets in his four games since taking over between the posts and the Leaving Cert student began by parrying from Cian Murphy and Evan McLaughlin.
Harps grabbed the lead in the 11th minute. Kevin Jordan and David Cawley won back possession and the latter exchanged a one-two with Seán Patton before spraying wide to Patrick Ferry. His deep cross found captain McNamee ghosting in at the far post to nod home.
Josh Fitzpatrick had a penalty appeal rejected after a mazy run but City were receiving plenty of advanced free-kicks. McLaughlin came closest when whipping an effort just outside the post.
The pressure continued. John O’Donovan’s long ball picked out Matthew Kiernan but Cooney rushed out to spoil his shot.
An even better chance arrived when Coffey was released into open country. Last week’s hat-trick hotshot unselfishly squared for Conor Drinan but the winger skewed wide from close range.
They were almost gifted a bizarre equaliser moments later. Noe Baba’s clearance cannoned back off of Max Hutchinson but Cooney took flight to claw the ball out of the top corner.
Having weathered the storm, Harps doubled their lead in the first minute of stoppage time. Patton won the ball and McNamee turned provider when sending Edogun into space. He clinically skipped his fourth goal in three games into the far corner.
Half-time brought with it an announcement that women’s manager Danny Murphy had signed a new two-year contract on the eve of their FAI Cup semi-final against Shelbourne.
The men’s side were well contained until the hour mark when a quadruple change saw Maguire, Ruairí Keating, Cathal O’Sullivan, and Malik Dijksteel introduced.
They didn’t wait long to make an impact. After Fitzpatrick’s shot was repelled by Cooney, Maguire was on hand to turn home his third goal since signing for City.
And when Dijksteel was fouled, Maguire stepped up to a free-kick which took a wicked deflection off the wall, wrongfooting the keeper on its path to the net.
Cooney made a double save from a McLaughlin free-kick and a Keating rebound before their chance to snatch a win arrived on the counter.
Edogun and Max Johnston combined to send McNamee clear but he fluffed his chip wide.
Kiernan repeatedly raided down the left to pick out Maguire but the post denied the Ireland international his hat-trick with six minutes to play.
Edogun struck the side-netting and Maguire had two more efforts, one deflected away by McNamee’s diving block.
A Dowling; C Bargary (C O’Sullivan 59), N Brookwell, J O’Donovan, M Kiernan; A Healy (G Bolger 75), E McLaughlin; J Fitzpatrick, B Coffey (S Maguire 59), C Drinan (M Dijksteel 59); C Murphy (R Keating 59).
O Cooney; J Watson, N Baba, M Makinson, K Jordan; T McNamee, M Hutchinson, D Cawley (B Strachan 62); S Edogun, S Patton (M Johnston 67), P Ferry.
D Toland.
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