Cork City 2
Bray Wanderers 1
Paul Dollery reports from Turner’s Cross
CORK CITY SIGNED off on the first series of SSE Airtricity League Premier Division games of 2017 by maintaining their impressive winning streak tonight in front of 5,361 fans on Leeside.
A 10th-minute penalty from Sean Maguire — who has now scored 10 goals in all competitions this season — and a late Johnny Dunleavy header brought an end to Bray Wanderers’ run of four consecutive league victories, although Derek Foran’s added-time goal made for a tense finish.
With a third of the season played, City’s 11th win from as many games gives them a 12-point advantage at the top of the table. However, they lived dangerously at times during a second half in which Bray enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession.
Bray were unchanged from their home win over Shamrock Rovers seven days ago, while City were forced into two adjustments — one of which was made just before kick-off.
With veteran centre-half Alan Bennett ruled out due to a hamstring strain he sustained during last week’s defeat of St Patrick’s Athletic, club captain Dunleavy made just his fourth league start of the season.
Greg Bolger started in a more advanced midfield role than what he’s accustomed to due to the late withdrawal of Garry Buckley, who had been named in the original teamsheet before suffering a hamstring injury in the warm-up.
The hosts dominated proceedings from the outset and Kevin O’Connor asked the first question of Peter Cherrie, forcing the Bray goalkeeper to make an important save with less than three minutes played with a free-kick from wide on the right.
Nevertheless, the opener did arrive just as the clock reached double figures. After Maguire rose brilliantly to flick Mark McNulty’s kick-out into the path of Karl Sheppard, the former Reading attacker fired the ball against the post. It rebounded off Cherrie — who knew little about it — and out for a corner.
From Stephen Dooley’s delivery, Bray defender Derek Foran was penalised and subsequently shown a yellow card by referee Paul McLaughlin for holding his opposite number Ryan Delaney. Maguire stepped up and sent Cherrie the wrong way to score his ninth league goal of the season.
City’s in-form striker was a constant menace to a Bray defence that looked extremely unsure of itself and he could have had a hat-trick by the 17th minute if it weren’t for two fine stops by Cherrie. Maguire and Sheppard continued to threaten throughout the opening half, to the extent that Bray manager Harry Kenny would have been more than satisfied with the one-goal deficit when the interval arrived.
The pacy Dylan Connolly looked dangerous for the Seagulls when running at the City defence, but their only first-half effort on target was a low Aaron Greene shot from distance which was drilled straight at McNulty. Just before the break, Cherrie was called into action again when Dooley was denied after cutting inside from the left.
While Bray had little to take encouragement from in the first 45 minutes, there was a sense of purpose and urgency about the visitors following the resumption. Five minutes in, Conor McCormack — who produced another faultless display in front of City’s back four — cleared a header off the line from John Sullivan.
Moments later, Maguire forced Cherrie to save with his legs after breaking down the left, but that was City’s only attempt on goal during a purple patch for Bray. Gary McCabe, the league’s top goalscorer, shot just over the crossbar from the edge of the box, before McNulty kept out a strike from Ryan Brennan with 66 minutes on the clock.
Bray needed a vital block from captain Tim Clancy to prevent Sheppard from doubling the home side’s lead, but Harry Kenny’s men remained in control and Connolly would have expected to do better with a 72nd-minute strike from close range that went well wide.
The game’s second goal eventually arrived in the 88th minute but it was John Caulfield’s side who scored it. After Dunleavy had brought a superb save from Cherrie from Dooley’s corner from the left, the City skipper made the most of his second bite of the cherry when he headed home Kevin O’Connor’s subsequent corner from the right.
Bray didn’t relent, however, and they prevented City from keeping a sixth consecutive clean sheet when Foran headed in Connolly’s free from the left after the game entered additional time. However, it wasn’t enough to stop the league leaders from surging further ahead at the top of the table.
CORK CITY: Mark McNulty; Steven Beattie, Johnny Dunleavy, Ryan Delaney, Kevin O’Connor; Conor McCormack; Gearoid Morrissey, Greg Bolger (Jimmy Keohane, 59); Stephen Dooley (Shane Griffin, 83), Sean Maguire (Connor Ellis, 90), Karl Sheppard.
BRAY WANDERERS: Peter Cherrie; Keith Buckley, Tim Clancy, Derek Foran, Jason Marks; Mark Salmon (Karl Moore, 73), John Sullivan; Ryan Brennan (Anto Flood, 77), Gary McCabe (Jamie Aherne, 85), Dylan Connolly; Aaron Greene.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
