Shelbourne 1 - 2 Cork City

Cork City didn't leave it quite as late as previous occasions as they came away from Tolka Park with three points on Friday evening, 2-1 the final score.

The visitors took the lead through Vinny Sullivan on 20 minutes and it was Sullivan who won the game with seven minutes left, after Paddy Kavanagh equalised for Shels early in the second half.

It was the Reds who started the brightest, with ample opportunities to open the scoring in the early stages. A lovely pass from Philly Hughes cut the Cork defence in two after four minutes to find his strike partner Philly Gorman. Gorman powered his shot at goal but Mark McNulty got down to it.

There were plenty of chances presented to the home side in the opening half hour, but the Reds failed to take any of them. Hughes passes split the Corkonian defence on three separate occasions, but still Shels were unable to score.

City had good spells of their own and always looked a bit more clinical in the first half. Ominously, Paul Skinner was forced to make two awkward clearances leading up to the 20^th minute.

And then, in the 20^th minute, the goal did come. Poor marking was partly to blame, but you couldn't fault Vinny Sullivan's finishing. He slotted it past Skinner after a threaded Tadhg Purcell pass put him through alone on goal.

Not long later it could have been two. Davin O'Neill produced an audacious chip from the left of the goal to beat Skinner, but Sean Byrne was on the line to head the ball over the bar. The Corkmen had the best of the chances in the remainder of the half, with Shels losing their shape and momentum after going 1-0 down.

Straight away from the opening whistle in the second half they looked like they had retained their urgency. Just two minutes in, after a bit of pressure, Shels equalised.

A fine Anto Murphy cross from the right found Paddy Kavanagh on the left of the box after flying over Philly Gorman's head. Kavanagh volleyed the ball sweetly with his left foot, and Mark McNulty couldn't get a proper touch on it as it went in off the post.

After being fairly dominant in the first half, Tommy Dunne's side rode their luck a bit after the goal. On several occasions they were forced into hurried clearances, and ten minutes into the half Philly Gorman was within inches of putting Shels ahead when he thundered a long-range shot off the inside of the City crossbar.

A fairly ill-tempered match threatened to boil over on the hour mark when Brian Shortall clattered into Davin O'Neill. A minor scuffle ensued and Shortall and Danny Murphy were both booked, but referee Derek Tomney kept it under control.

McNulty produced a fantastic save two minutes later to deny Hughes, after the striker was alone on goal with the Cork 'keeper. After the 65^th minute, Cork came back into the game. Some good build-up play allowed Tadhg Purcell to score with a looping header over Skinner on 68 minutes, but the goal was ruled out after an apparent foul.

With seven minutes left, Cork at last clicked. A couple of neat passes gave Purcell the space out on the left to whip in the cross. It met the head of Sullivan, who headed comfortably past Skinner for 2-1.

Hughes had a curling effort from the outskirts of the box saved with five minutes left, but Cork closed the match out to earn what could turn out to be a big win.

Shelbourne: Paul Skinner; Brian Shortall, Ian Ryan, Andy Boyle, Sean Byrne; Anto Murphy, Glen Cronin, David Cassidy, Paddy Kavanagh (Paul Byrne 87); Philip Gorman, Phillip Hughes. 
Subs Not Used: Dean Delany, Gareth Matthews, Barry Clancy, John Sullivan, Brendan McGill, Conan Byrne.
Yellow Cards: Shortall (60), Cassidy (78), S Byrne (87).

Cork City: Mark McNulty; Colin Healy, Dan Murray, Kalen Spillane, Danny Murphy; Shane Duggan, Gearoid Morrissey, Vinny Sullivan, Daryl Horgan; Davin O'Neill, Tadhg Purcell (Ian Turner 91). 
Subs Not Used: Stephen Kenny, Kevin Burns, Garry Buckley, Cathal Lordan, Gavin Kavanagh.
Yellow Cards: Sullivan (45+1), D Horgan (46), Duggan (53), D Murphy (60), G Morrissey (80).
 

Referee: Derek Tomney.
Attendance: 1,033.
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Vinny Sullivan.