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Cork City's Daire O'Connor celebrates scoring a goal. Ken Sutton/INPHO
Mixed Fortunes

Cork City retain top-flight status at UCD's expense amid 5-goal thriller

The Students needed to take something from the game to have a realistic chance of staying up.

Cork City 3

UCD 2

Denis Hurley reports from Turners Cross

CORK CITY’S SPOT in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for 2020 has been assured after the Rebel Army picked up their first win under head coach Neale Fenn.

However, City’s first victory since August — and the first home triumph since beating UCD at Turner’s Cross in May — wasn’t secured until referee Seán Grant’s final whistle, with Students sub Danu Kinsella-Bishop firing a late equalising attempt against the post.

City twice led by two goals, including after Conor McCormack’s strike to make it 3-1 in injury time, however immediately after that, McCormack fouled Kinsella-Bishop for a penalty, which Jack Keaney slotted home.

With UCD needing to take something from the game to have a realistic chance of staying up, they pushed on in the hope of making it 3-3 and they almost got it through Kinsella-Bishop, but he hit the woodwork and Keaney’s follow-up was off-target.

City deserved their victory on the basis of the game as a whole, with Karl Sheppard’s 34th-minute goal giving them the half-time lead.

While Tadhg Ryan needed to make a good double-save to deny UCD pair Dara Keane and Yoyo Mahdy early in the second half, City got on top again with teenage striker Beineón O’Brien-Whitmarsh doing well on his first start and he set up Dáire O’Connor to make it 2-0 against his former club on 64.

UCD gave themselves a chance though, as Dara Keane, their best player throughout, headed home from a Jason McClelland corner. City replied though as McCormack fired in a third after O’Connor’s initial shot was blocked.

That looked to be that, but a nervy closing few minutes lay in store before the points were claimed.

CORK CITY: Tadhg Ryan; Conor McCormack, Conor McCarthy, Dan Casey, Shane Griffin (Colm Horgan 81); Gearóid Morrissey, Alec Byrne; Karl Sheppard, Joel Coustrain (Eoghan Stokes 75), Dáire O’Connor; Beineón O’Brien-Whitmarsh.

UCD: Conor Kearns; Mark Dignam (Danu Kinsella-Bishop 88), Harry McEvoy, Luke Boore (Evan Farrell 27), Paul Doyle; Liam Kerrigan, Jack Keaney, Richie O’Farrell, Jason McClelland; Yoyo Mahdy (Sam Byrne 81), Dara Keane.

Referee: Seán Grant (Wexford).

 

 

 

Andy Dunne and Murray Kinsella join Gavan Casey to preview Ireland-Samoa, and discuss the utter farce of the World Cup falling foul of Typhoon Hagibis.


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