Report: Cork City 1 - 1 Derry City

Connor Sammon is the toast of Foyleside tonight as his late injury time goal gave Derry City a point in this exciting FAI Premier league clash at Turners Cross.

Derry – while enjoying plenty of possession on the night were behind for over 80 minutes and even the most loyal of Candystripe was thinking that the journey to Cork would be a fruitless one. However buoyed by some impact substitutions and an ever re-treating home side they eeked out a well deserved point at the end of the game.

Alan Matthews bizarrely brought off the excellent Dave Mooney and replaced him with Pat Sullivan on 81 minutes – and one wonders would the result have been different if Cork had maintained the initiative that they had seemed to monopolise throughout the second half.

It was the visitors who started the brightest and Pat McCourt was the victim of a few fouls which brought Derry their first chance from a resultant free kick in the 2nd minute. Michael Devine firstly parrying away the free kick from Ruaidhri Higgins, and secondly blocking Kevin McHugh’s close range effort much to relief of the home crowd.

Indeed Derry seemed to have the better of the opening half but that was only after Cork City had opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Thankfully for the home faithful it was not going to be another barren evening, and Mooney’s finish belied the seeming pressure from the home faithful to see a goal, after two scoreless outing’s this season thus far. The chance was created by some good work from Colin Healy and John O’Flynn on the right hand side of the box and the ball fell to Mooney in acres of space on the edge of the area and he finished low to Doherty’s right with aplomb.

Almost immediately Kevin McHugh should have equalised but after finding space for a shot he drilled his effort to the right of the right hand upright. McHugh was causing City all sorts of problems and his run in the 27th minute resembled more of a Pat McCourt effort than a McHugh one – however McHugh’s shot after an excellent run was straight at Devine.

The home side had much the better of the opening second half exchanges – indeed John O’Flynn had one of the night’s best chances on the 47th minute when, after an excellent through ball by Colin Healy he found himself baring down on Gerard Doherty’s goal. However, disappointingly for the rebel army, his shot flew past the left hand upright, via a slight touch from a Derry City defender.

City continued to dominate and Joe Gamble’s snapshot five minutes later would have had Doherty in trouble if on target. Colin Healy was the next to try his luck from long range after 65 minutes but neither that nor a close range header from the ever dangerous Mooney six minutes later gave the Derry net minder any trouble.

Derry to their credit stuck admirably to their task and the first warning shot was fired across the bows of the rebel army came on 82 minutes when Barry Molloy engineered a chance for himself on the right wing only to see his shot go straight at Mick Devine.

Three minutes later and Devine really had to earn his match fee when making a wonderful save from Derry substitute Mark Farran – who should have done better it has to be said after beating the off-side trap from Molloy’s through ball.

At this stage it was all Derry and after Cork had survived a 93rd minute goal mouth scramble it seemed at last the three points were in the bag. But Kenny’s men had other ideas and the game’s defining moment came in the fourth and last minute of injury time. McHugh again was in the middle of a Derry attack and when he found space, his cross beat all the Cork defenders and goalkeeper, and up popped substitute Connor Sammon to steer the ball home from five yards.

A dramatic end then, to an excellent night’s entertainment at Turners Cross.
 

Cork City: Michael Devine; Neal Horgan, Dan Murray, Cillian Lordan, Danny Murphy; Colin Healy, Joe Gamble, George O’Callaghan, Liam Kearney; John O’Flynn (Denis Behan 61), Dave Mooney (Pat Sullivan 81).
Subs not used: Mark McNulty, Darragh Ryan, Dave Mulcahy.

Booked: Gamble (94).
 

Derry City: Gerard Doherty; Eddie McCallion, Peter Hutton, Clive Delaney, Steven Gray; Niall McGinn (Conor Sammon 64), Ruaidhri Higgins, Barry Molloy, Ciaran Martyn (Mark Farren 45), Pat McCourt (Owen Morrison 76); Kevin McHugh.

Subs not used: Aaron Callaghan, Gareth McGlynn.

Booked: McCallion (83).

Referee: Richie Winter.
Attendance: 4,223
Beamish Man of the Match: Colin Healy (Cork City).