HANS MPONGO DOUBLED his Cork City goal-scoring tally with a brace to maintain the Turner’s Cross side’s unbeaten First Division start in front of 2,601 fans.
The Leesiders punished a pair of defensive mistakes to move eight points clear of UCD with a game in hand.
Stephen Elliott’s Wexford slip to third. They haven’t registered a win over City in 25 attempts dating back to 2010 (7 draws, 18 defeats).
Given that a switch to 4-4-2 resulted in a four-goal turnaround against Kerry last time out, Barry Robson retained that structure here.
Advertisement
That saw Ruairí Keating miss out, with Mpongo starting up front alongside Seani Maguire.
That duo demonstrated their compatibility within three minutes by combining for the opening goal. Greg Bolger volleyed the ball forward and Maguire capitalised on a Robert McCourt mistake. His perfect pass split the defenders for Mpongo to race through and finish his third goal of the season.
They weren’t quite on the same wavelength minutes later. Maguire’s pass-turned-shot looked destined for either the bottom corner or an Mpongo tap-in. The Dutch frontman’s touch was too heavy as he effectively blocked the ball from crossing the line.
City took their foot off the accelerator as the game fell into a lull. That allowed Wexford to produce their first shot in the 28th minute – a routine Gavin Hodgins effort at Conor Brann. There was nothing routine five minutes later as they grabbed the leveller.
City had multiple opportunities to clear before and after Evan Osam’s cross. Mikie Rowe won the initial header and Jake Doyle made a nuisance of himself before left-back Conor Drinan only succeeded in poking the ball for Jamie Wynne to slide into the corner. The former City winger celebrated his first league goal in front of the Shed End.
Robson had seen enough of the new formation as he reverted back to his stock 3-4-1-2 shape. Cillian Murphy slotted in behind the front pair. He had one opportunity blocked by Dylan Hand before whizzing a long-range strike just over the bar.
Into the second half, Wexford’s high-energy 4-1-4-1 formation soaked up City pressure. A Brann slice almost gave Ryan Ritchie an open goal to aim for until Rory Feely poked the ball away with his final act.
As Maguire forced Paul Martin into a low save, Robson returned to a back-four in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Keating up top.
They had their reward against the tiring visitors on 69 minutes. Mpongo, now on the left wing, and Maguire, playing as a number 10, linked up. The ex-Ireland international’s ball over the top was miskicked by Dylan Hand and fell for Keating. In the end, the onrushing Mpongo took it off his foot to roll a shot into the far corner.
The hat-trick chaser hit the post late on before being called back for offside.
Into the five added minutes, Jack Larkin got the only chance for a leveller, lofting an acrobatic effort over the bar. At the other end, Maguire had a late goal called back for offside after Martin hit the deck.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Hans Mpongo's double against Wexford fires Cork City eight clear with a game in hand
Cork City 2
Wexford 1
Stephen Barry reports from Turner’s Cross
HANS MPONGO DOUBLED his Cork City goal-scoring tally with a brace to maintain the Turner’s Cross side’s unbeaten First Division start in front of 2,601 fans.
The Leesiders punished a pair of defensive mistakes to move eight points clear of UCD with a game in hand.
Stephen Elliott’s Wexford slip to third. They haven’t registered a win over City in 25 attempts dating back to 2010 (7 draws, 18 defeats).
Given that a switch to 4-4-2 resulted in a four-goal turnaround against Kerry last time out, Barry Robson retained that structure here.
That saw Ruairí Keating miss out, with Mpongo starting up front alongside Seani Maguire.
That duo demonstrated their compatibility within three minutes by combining for the opening goal. Greg Bolger volleyed the ball forward and Maguire capitalised on a Robert McCourt mistake. His perfect pass split the defenders for Mpongo to race through and finish his third goal of the season.
They weren’t quite on the same wavelength minutes later. Maguire’s pass-turned-shot looked destined for either the bottom corner or an Mpongo tap-in. The Dutch frontman’s touch was too heavy as he effectively blocked the ball from crossing the line.
City took their foot off the accelerator as the game fell into a lull. That allowed Wexford to produce their first shot in the 28th minute – a routine Gavin Hodgins effort at Conor Brann. There was nothing routine five minutes later as they grabbed the leveller.
City had multiple opportunities to clear before and after Evan Osam’s cross. Mikie Rowe won the initial header and Jake Doyle made a nuisance of himself before left-back Conor Drinan only succeeded in poking the ball for Jamie Wynne to slide into the corner. The former City winger celebrated his first league goal in front of the Shed End.
Robson had seen enough of the new formation as he reverted back to his stock 3-4-1-2 shape. Cillian Murphy slotted in behind the front pair. He had one opportunity blocked by Dylan Hand before whizzing a long-range strike just over the bar.
Into the second half, Wexford’s high-energy 4-1-4-1 formation soaked up City pressure. A Brann slice almost gave Ryan Ritchie an open goal to aim for until Rory Feely poked the ball away with his final act.
As Maguire forced Paul Martin into a low save, Robson returned to a back-four in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Keating up top.
They had their reward against the tiring visitors on 69 minutes. Mpongo, now on the left wing, and Maguire, playing as a number 10, linked up. The ex-Ireland international’s ball over the top was miskicked by Dylan Hand and fell for Keating. In the end, the onrushing Mpongo took it off his foot to roll a shot into the far corner.
The hat-trick chaser hit the post late on before being called back for offside.
Into the five added minutes, Jack Larkin got the only chance for a leveller, lofting an acrobatic effort over the bar. At the other end, Maguire had a late goal called back for offside after Martin hit the deck.
CORK CITY: Conor Brann; Rory Feely (Ruairí Keating 66), Fiacre Kelleher, Charlie Lyons, Conor Drinan (AJ Bridge 88); Cillian Murphy, Darragh Crowley, Greg Bolger, Josh Fitzpatrick (Harry Nevin 66); Seani Maguire, Hans Mpongo (Matthew Kiernan 86).
WEXFORD: Paul Martin; Max Murphy, Dylan Hand (Kaylem Harnett 70), Robert McCourt, Evan Osam; Zayd Abada; Mikie Rowe (Liam Shuntaro Doyle 70), Gavin Hodgins (Ryan Ritchie 62), Adam Verdon, Jamie Wynne (Jack Larkin 81); Jake Doyle.
Referee: Alan Patchell (Dublin).
League of Ireland First Division results
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
First division Leaders League of Ireland LOI Soccer Cork City Wexford