Rovers take on Cork
KIERAN Sadlier returned to haunt his former club on Saturday evening last as a gallant Sligo Rovers were beaten by champions Cork City at the Showgrounds.
Sadlier took less than one minute to score what was his second goal on Sligo soil since his move to the double winners last summer.
Rovers rallied and even after losing their captain Kyle Callan-McFadden to a head injury, played some of their best football this season.
The home side did find the nettin the opening half. But the goal was chalked off after the referee’s assistant ruled that the ball had run over the end line before David Cawley crossed for Ali Roy who fired home from close range.
However, Rovers’ goal-scoring woes continued as the Bit O’Red were unable to find the net again at the Showgrounds for the fourth league game running. Meaning Rovers are yet to score at the Church Hill venue on a Saturday night this season.
Ger Lyttle’s charges were on top for the majority of the second half although City goalkeeper Mark McNulty didn’t endure one of his busier nights.
The closest Rovers came to levelling the game came in the 77th minute when substitute Liam Kerrigan forced the City stopper to push the Tubbercurry youngster’s effort on to his crossbar.
John Caulfield’s men although not in top gear, showed the true mark of champions as they weathered the storm and cruelly for Rovers, put the game to bed three minutes later. Graham Cummins heading past Mitchell Beeney to send the Munster men back to the top of the league table.
Rovers had a mountain to climb from the start. Dazed by the sunlight,
Callan-McFadden lost his way in his attempt to clear a lobbed ball forward. Cork’s Garry Buckley taking charge before teeing up Sadlier who found the bottom corner of the net from the angle with just 52 seconds elapsed.
Staggered by their wobbly start, Rovers had to re-organise and settle.
Cummins somehow beat the offside trap to emerge in a oneon-one situation with Beeney nine minutes in. The Chelsea loanee doing just enough to put City’s joint top scorer off as the ball trailed its way to the sideline.
It remained all Cork and Sean McLoughlin headed over from Sadlier’s searching set piece moments before Sligo skipper Callan-McFadden left the field via a stretcher. The Ramelton man clashing heads with Cummins during an aerial challenge.
Buckley fired over from a Cummins knock-down, while Rovers worried McNulty for the first time on 22 minutes.
Rhys McCabe’s quick free coming back to him via Ali Roy as the former Rangers man sent his drive across the face of the Rebel goal.
Rovers were fortunate not to be further behind thirteen minutes from the interval.
The unmarked Buckley screwing his header past the post from another tantalising Sadlier set piece.
This seemed to jolt Rovers into action as they went at City with speed.
Roy’s cross causing confusion in the Cork area as McNulty totally mis-queued his attempted punch at the ball, instead colliding with Lewis Morrison. Referee Rob Rogers untouched by Morrison’s appeals of foul play.
Morrison, who registered his first senior goal the week previous, came close again on 34. Seamus Sharkey and Cawley combining from Roy’s throw-in deep in the Cork half but the young Scot couldn’t get a touch to Sharkey’s drilled cross.
And so to the controversial moment of the contest. Cawley’s pull back finding Roy at the front post, the Hearts man sweeping the ball to the net to the joy of the home support.
But that moment quickly turned sour as the linesman on the Jinks Avenue side raised his flag to indicate the ball had gone over the end line before Cawley made contact.
There was to be one more chance for both sides to score before the break.
Sadlier’s pop at goal took a deflection off Sharkey before the ball looped to Cummins, but the burly centre forward could only lift the ball over the crossbar on the stretch.
Then came Sligo’s chance. McCabe’s sublime diagonal ball was expertly trapped by Caolan McAleer on the right side.
Rovers working the ball back to McCabe whose goalward shot took a deflection off his own man only for the breaking ball to land to Cawley who could only sky his volley from close range.
Rovers did everything but score in a second half in which they dominated large portions.
But not before Beeney had to scurry to get behind Sadlier’s brash effort from 35 yards out at the sideline, which looked to be creeping in at the near post.
The home side putting together some of their best plays of the season, but again that decisiveness evaded them.
Morrison battling his way through a forest of City defenders four minutes in only to find the side netting.
While Adam Wixted’s cross almost sneaked its way in at the back post five minutes later.
Rovers over-worked things on 57. Some intricate play through the middle saw possession fall to Morrison at the edge of the box.
With time and space to test McNulty, the former Kilmarnock man instead decided to try and pick out the run of Wixted.
The winger mis-controlling before losing his footing and finally letting the ball hit his hand as he attempted to keep the ball in check.
The introduction of Raff Cretaro added a new dimension to the Sligo attack.
Only on the pitch minutes, the veteran almost got a touch to Regan Donelon’s cross on 62. While Cretaro claimed he was obstructed by a Cork defender in his efforts to reach another ball from the same player shortly after.
From one Tubbercurry man to one half his age, Cretaro came within a lick of paint of celebrating Kerrigan’s first goal on just his second senior outing for the club. Donelon again causing problems and he wriggled around former team mate Steven Beattie to find Kerrigan.
But the 18-year-old could only watch on as McNulty flicked a hand to his close-range stab at goal. The ball coming back off the crossbar.
Fate was to be unkind to a tireless Bit O’Red as Cork put the game to bed ten minutes from time. Cummins stretching his neck to cushion the ball over Beeney’s reach to finish Beattie’s cross to the net.