Bohemians 0 

Cork City 2

CORK CITY SEALED their best ever start to a SSE Airtricity League of Ireland season as they snuck past Bohemians to mark their ninth win from nine games with a 2-0 victory at Dalymount Park.

A stunning Karl Sheppard volley shortly before the break and Garry Buckey’s neat finish late on secured the victory for John Caulfield’s men.

The majority of the first-half proved a quiet affair in terms of chances with the Gypsies, anchored by the impressive Fuad Sule, playing the far better football against their heavily-fancied visitors.

However, five minutes before the break, The Rebel Army seized the lead in style. Kevin O’Connor’s corner was cleared from the box and into the path of Sheppard who struck a spectacular volley that flew into the top-right corner, leaving Shane Supple stranded.

Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

Ten minutes into the restart, Bohs were inches from pulling level. A neat flick from Kaleem Simon released Georgie Poynton who showed sublime pace to bolt into the box before seeing a close-range shot blocked by the outrushing McNulty.

On 85 minutes, Cork were inches from putting the game to bed when a rapid counter-attack saw Sheppard pick out Buckley whose shot was magnificently stopped by Supple at his right-post.

Indeed, two minutes later Cork did seal the win when Sean Maguire swept the ball across to Buckley who diverted it by Supple and into the net.

The victory means the Leesiders have now secured 27 points from a possible 27 to open up a 9 point lead at the top of the table following Dundalk’s defeat to Bray Wanderers.

And while this is the greatest start by any side since the Premier Division’s inception in 1985, Cork still have some way to go to beat the overall League of Ireland record which stands at 15, a feat accomplished by Bohemians way back in 1923.

Bohemians: Shane Supple; Derek Pender (c), Rob Cornwall, Dan Byrne, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Paddy Kavanagh, Fuad Sule (Ian Morris, 76), Oscar Brennan, Keith Ward (Jamie Hamilton, 65); Georgie Poynton (Steven Nolan, 86), Kaleem Simon

Cork City: Mark McNulty; Jimmy Keohane (Steven Beattie, 53), Alan Bennett (c), Ryan Delaney, Kevin O’Connor; Conor McCormack, Gearoid Morrissey; Garry Buckley (Greg Bolger, 89); Karl Sheppard, Sean Maguire, Stephen Dooley (Shane Griffin, 81)

Referee: Ben Connolly.

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