Cork City 6-0 Monaghan United

It might have taken seven weeks but Cork City have finally got a win under their belts after hitting Monaghan United for six at Turner’s Cross on Friday night.

A Davin O’Neill hat-trick was the highlight for the home team but more importantly they will take bucketloads of confidence out of this result. Having gone into the game joint bottom with Mons, City climbed up to 10^th but more importantly – they are only a point off seventh place.

For Monaghan, there is quite clearly a lot of work to be done after this showing. While they did look like threatening on occasion when the game was still scoreless, they were second best in every department once they fell behind.

Of course, it is still far too early to be condemning them to a battle to remain in the top flight but the longer they go without a win the more difficult it becomes for them to crawl off the bottom. This was a night for City fans to take a deep breath and relax though, and with Sligo Rovers travelling south next Friday, they will hope to build on this and get a result against the unbeaten Bit O’Red. After two insipid away performances against Bohs and in the EA Sports Cup against Limerick last weekend, there was a marked improvement all over the field.

There were no major defensive scares, a problem which has been at the forefront of their sluggish start, while going forward Daryl Horgan, O’Neill and Vinny Sullivan were outstanding aside from their goals.

The first arrived on 28 minutes and although they were given a slice of luck, City deserved the break after a torrid six weeks. Horgan struck towards goal and although Bennion looked in a good place to save, the ball took a wicked deflection off of Conor McMahon and diverted into the other side of the net.

It was a goal that could mean so much to City in terms of confidence and, quite like the bus service on Leeside, a second goal arrived four minutes later. A free-kick from Gearóid Morrissey saw Bennion come out to claim but he spilled it and after Sullivan’s initial attempt was blocked into the path of O’Neill, the striker guided home for his first of the evening.

Monaghan still had a slim chance at the beginning of the second half of clawing themselves back into the game but their hopes were soon dashed when Keith Quinn was booked twice in the space of two minutes, either side of City’s third. His first was for a poor challenge on Horgan and from the resulting free-kick Morrissey played a sterling ball to Sullivan. The marking was nowhere to be seen and the striker had an easy finish six yards out.

While City were off celebrating, Quinn was giving referee Rob Rogers dissent and within seconds he was down the tunnel. Though his evening was over, the rest of the Mons side must have wished theirs was too as the home side continued to pound forward at every opportunity.

O’Neill made it four after a lightning break forward but it was unlucky once again for Monaghan as they had just hit the crossbar through a Darragh Reynor  free-kick. As the ball came back off the woodwork, Horgan rushed forward and with O’Neill free, he had loads of time to slot past Bennion.

It was to get worse for the Ulster side when Tadhg Purcell blasted in off the post after a nice turn when fellow substitute Shane O’Connor played him in and their wounds were well and truly salted when Shane Duggan was hauled down inside the box and O’Neill stepped up, struck to the corner of the net and took the matchball home with him.

Cork City: Mark McNulty; Gavin Kavanagh (Ian Turner 70), Dan Murray, Kalen Spillane, Danny Murphy; Gearóid Morrissey, Shane Duggan, John Dunleavy, Daryl Horgan (Shane O’Connor 75); Davin O’Neill, Vinny Sullivan (Tadhg Purcell 70).
Subs not used: Kevin Burns, Colin Healy, Cathal Lordan, Stephen Kenny.

Booked: D Murphy (25), Dunleavy (70).

Monaghan United: Chris Bennion; Stephen Maher, Shaun Maher, Conor McMahon (Jason Marks 74), Keith Quinn; Gareth O’Connor, Jordan Keegan (Owen Humphrey 55), William McDonagh, Darragh Reynor (Roddy Collins 74); Danny McGuinness, Conor Murphy.
Subs not used: Michael Schlingermann, Tony Griffiths, Shane Dunne, Paul Whelan.

Booked: Quinn (47), G O’Connor (78).
Sent off: Quinn (49).

Referee: Rob Rogers.

Official attendance: 2,431

ExtraTime.ie Man of the Match: Daryl Horgan (Cork City).