Clinical Cork crush Youths
A night to forget as City run riot throughout first-half
SO MUCH can change in the course of a long campaign stretching from March to October, and comprising 33 games per team.
That was certainly the case for Wexford Youths in Turner’s Cross on Monday of last week when 1,214 supporters looked on as they were subjected to a 5-0 hammering from a rampant Cork City outfit in their penultimate clash of the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.
It was certainly a different story on April 8 when the top flight newcomers travelled to the same venue to face much-vaunted opposition and came away with a merited 1-1 draw. That was the night when Eric Molloy followed his goal with an acrobatic celebration which was captured for this newspaper by Wexford-born photographer George Hatchell and subsequently used in various media outlets.
And Youths were so positive in their play on that occasion that the discerning Cork City diehards in The Shed end afforded them a generous round of applause as they left the field afterwards.
Just to put that result in context, the Leesiders played 17 home games in the league this season and won 14 of them, accumulating 44 points from a possible 51. They just lost once, to Sligo Rovers, while Youths and Bohemians were the only two clubs to hold them to a draw at their home fortress.
Fast forward more than six months though, and those selfsame supporters in The Shed viewed an entirely different contest this time around.
The last lingering hope Youths had of avoiding the promotion/ relegation play-off disappeared in a flash, as they were subjected to a 5-0 battering by accomplished opponents.
Technically the visitors still had a chance before the game, needing to win this tie plus Friday’s trip to Sligo Rovers, while also requiring Finn Harps to lose to Bohemians. As it transpired, none of those required results came to pass, and they were given a footballing lesson by a rampant Cork side.
Instead of dwelling on the disappointment of finishing second in the league to Dundalk again, John Caulfield’s players went out seeking to impress him ahead of their FAI Cup final against their arch-rivals in the Aviva Stadium on Sunday week.
Cork City’s Wexford duo weren’t involved, with captain Greg Bolger suspended and Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Kevin O’Connor kept in reserve on the bench.
And though they fielded a side mixed with seasoned campaigners and fringe players, they ripped Youths asunder in the first-half with Seán Maguire pulling the strings in midfield. It was 4-0 in their favour at the break, and mercifully the Kilkenny-born schemer was with- drawn at half-time along with right winger Stephen Dooley, although Youths still conceded another goal before the end.
They had made six changes from the side which played a scoreless home draw with Finn Harps on the previous Friday, with two of the enforced variety as Chris Kenny and Paul Murphy were suspended after accumulating five and eight yellow cards respectively.
Craig McCabe, Lee Grace, Andrew O’Connor and Aidan Keenan all dropped down to the bench, with young Kilkenny centre-half Owen McCormack called up for his league debut after making three appearances earlier in the season in the EA Sports and Leinster Senior Cups.
He was joined in the starting line-up by two of his Under-19 colleagues, Eoin Porter and Vincent Quinlan, while Aidan Friel, Shane Dempsey and Shane Dunne also came into the team.
Dunne fired over inside three minutes after sloppy play by Cork’s Gavan Holohan, but it certainly wasn’t a taste of things to come.
By game’s end the corner count read 10-1 in favour of the locals, with Lee Chin conceding the first which Shane Dempsey headed clear before two of Youths’ young guns fashioned a half-chance.
Owen McCormack pumped a long ball into the path of Eoin Porter who might have beaten netminder Mark McNulty as he darted off his line by producing a deft first-time touch over his head. However, that was easier said than done, and Cork’s stand-in captain for the night saved comfortably.
A push on Danny Furlong just inside the opposition half should have presented another opportunity in the seventh minute, but the opposite was the case.
Shane Dempsey’s free-kick lacked elevation and didn’t beat the first defender who set in train a slick breakaway.
Teenage winger Chiedozie Ogbene, one of those fringe players on a mission to impress, passed to Seán Maguire before accepting the return in behind full-back Aidan Friel and calmly slotting the ball into the far corner of the net past Graham Doyle despite Dempsey’s best efforts to execute a block.
It only took another three minutes before Youths conceded again, with Stephen Dooley and Gavan Holohan creating another opening for Ogbene who gratefully accepted the opportunity.
It was clearly going to be a long, tough night for the visitors who had to contend with the excellence of ex-international Colin Healy in a defensive midfield role, coupled with the creativity of Maguire in front of him.
Graham Doyle denied the latter after a good first-time cross from the left by Ogbene in the 13th minute, with two Cork City corners defended before Lee Chin headed a John Kavanagh cross to safety.
Ogbene was chasing his hattrick as early as the 20th minute, and he wasn’t too far off the mark either as his daisy-cutter from a Maguire pass flashed across goal and just wide.
Another City corner proved fruitless before Aidan Friel earned Youths’ sole one of the night. Jonny Bonner played a one-two with Vincent Quinlan and then had his shot blocked, leading to another swift and threatening break which only ended with a stray pass on the edge of the Wexford box.
Danny Furlong did have the ball in the net in the 26th minute, chancing his arm from a free-kick just inside the opposition half after spotting Mark McNulty off his line. However, referee James McKell hadn’t blown his whistle so the setpiece had to be re-taken.
Conor Whittle was well off target with a speculative effort before Youths conceded once more in the 32nd minute.
Colin Healy and Stephen Dooley featured prominently in the build-up before the classy Seán Maguire calmly rounded Graham Doyle and tucked the ball into an empty net.
The pressure was unrelenting, with Lee Chin blocking a Mark O’Sullivan cross before another Cork City corner led to their fourth goal in the 39th minute.
Stephen Dooley’s initial delivery was returned to him before he swung in a better cross for centre-half Conor McCarthy to force home at the far post.
The half-time whistle couldn’t arrive quickly enough for Youths at that stage, although they did show some brief flashes of promise. Vincent Quinlan was unable to control a decent pass from Conor Whittle, while Lee Chin blasted a long-range shot well wide.
Graham Doyle had no trouble dealing with a weak shot from Mark O’Sullivan which took a deflection, but he had more to do when tipping over a teaser from the same player in the 43rd minute.
That led to Cork’s sixth and final corner of the half which was cleared to Chiedozie Ogbene whose shot was blocked by Eoin Porter.
There was a more leisurely pace to the second-half after Maguire departed, although the leaders’ threat was ever-present as Jonny Bonner and Owen McCormack had to deal with crosses from Mark O’Sullivan and substitute Ian Turner respectively.
And the agony was prolonged as Cork added a fifth and final goal in the 57th minute when a slip by a Youths defender was punished to the full as Ogbene played in Gavan Holohan for a well-taken goal.
The only target for Youths at that point was to avoid conceding what would have been a season-high sixth, as the scoreline now matched that of their heaviest league defeat at home to Sligo Rovers in August.
Mark O’Sullivan had a couple of chances for the half-dozen, but the ball got caught under his feet for the first while Graham Doyle then made a smart save to deny him in the 61st minute.
A Chiedozie Ogbene shot was blocked after another corner was conceded, while a rare Youths attack didn’t yield anything as Shane Dempsey couldn’t keep his shot down from Eoin Porter’s pass.
Aidan Friel moved to the right wing after the introduction of Craig McCabe and did well to control a Conor Whittle cross in the 72nd minute, only to strike his shot wide.
One big positive for the losers was the return via the bench of centre-half Gary Delaney who had missed a number of recent games with an ankle injury, but he wasn’t on the field long before Youths had further problems to deal with.
Ogbene had a chance to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 75th minute when he was taken down by Lee Chin, but Graham Doyle provided the chief highlight of the night from Youths’ point of view when he sprung catlike low to his right and made a superb save.
He was quickly adopted as a new friend of The Shed who repeatedly chanted his name in the closing stages in an example of the good-natured banter which is a feature of every trip to Turner’s Cross.
Doyle did well to deal with a Mark O’Sullivan cross as substitute Danny Morrissey was jumping with him, while Ian Turner had a longrange shot which skimmed the top of the bar before going over in the 80th minute.
Youths replacement Aidan Keenan had no luck from a speculative attempt, while Conor Whittle cut in from the left but his shot lacked power.
Doyle’s net did rattle once more in the 87th minute, but Danny Morrissey’s meaty finish after good build-up play from O’Sullivan and Ogbene was ruled out for offside.
The Youths captain still had one fine save to make from O’Sullivan to keep the final margin at five, with the striker firing the rebound over the bar on a chastening night for the visitors.
Wexford Youths: Graham Doyle (capt.); Aidan Friel, Owen McCormack, Lee Chin, Conor Whittle; Shane Dempsey, Jonny Bonner; Vincent Quinlan, Shane Dunne, Eoin Porter; Danny Furlong. Subs. - Aidan Keenan for Porter (68), Craig McCabe for Quinlan (71), Gary Delaney for McCormack (75), also Lee Grace, Andrew O’Connor, Corey Chambers.
Cork City: Mark McNulty (capt.); Michael McSweeney, Conor McCarthy, Dave Mulcahy, John Kavanagh; Colin Healy, Gavan Holohan; Stephen Dooley, Seán Maguire, Chiedozie Ogbene; Mark O’Sullivan. Subs. - Cian Coleman for Maguire (HT), Ian Turner for Dooley (HT), Danny Morrissey for McCarthy (69), also Matthew Connor, Kevin O’Connor, Gearóid Morrissey, Karl Sheppard.
Referee: James McKell (Tipperary).