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Bittersweet victory for City in FAI Cup final Cork
City 1 - Longford Town 0
A MATCH in which the conditions were the dominant player saw Cork City
win the cup after a largely forgettable clash where the Leesiders were
by far the better team.
But the celebrations at the final whistle were distinctly pointed from
the Cork players and management.
Team captain Dan Murray described the win as a “two fingers to the
City board,” while manager Damien Richardson expects to be removed
as manager.
A new consortium have taken charge at Turners Cross and their mix of penny-pinching,
vaulting ambition and the desire to replace Richardson with a higher-profile
coach, has served to leave several senior players disenchanted enough
to decline new contracts.
And they, like the manager, are likely to have made the Cup Final the
last act of their Cork City careers.
Such intrigue was noticeably absent on the pitch, with Denis Behan’s
solitary strike separating the teams.
The gulf in quality between the teams was obvious by the interval: When
Cork’s former Republic of Ireland midfielder Colin Healy wasn’t
hitting top gear and needed to be replaced, another former international,
Gareth Farrelly, came off the bench.
Strikers John O’Flynn and Denis Behan had far too much imagination
for the Longford defenders.
Behan’s decisive goal came on the hour mark when some terrible defending
from Longford left the big striker completely unmarked in the box and
he turned the ball home with considerable style.
Longford had never looked like scoring in the match.
Their creative players were smothered out of the game around midfield
while their star striker, Dave Mooney, who is likely to be coming to an
English League club near you sometime soon, showed flashes of class but
never received the quality of ball he required to make a major impact.
So it’s Cork who claim the cup but with the manager and a host of
their most experienced players likely to depart the scene, the win is
more bitter than sweet.
Regarding his departure, Richardson said after the match: “Nothing
has been done yet, but it will be done, I’m certain of that.” |
