Sligo Rovers – Cork City

Recap

Cork City maintained their 100% start to the season with a comprehensive victory over Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds tonight.

City started brightly and hit the front inside five minutes, when good work by Karl Sheppard down the right saw him work space for a cross and he found the head of Graham Cummins who nodded to the net at the near post.

City doubled their advantage minutes later when Cummins was fouled in the box after a corner; Sadlier stepped up to dispatch the spot kick and make it 2-0.

Caulfield’s side were rampant now, and Gearóid Morrissey almost made it 3-0 after 12 minutes when he fired a shot just wide of the far post. McNamee then found Sheppard in the box, but he couldn’t get the ball under control to get his shot away.

Sheppard then forced Beeney in the Sligo goal into a decent stop, and Cummins was unable to keep the rebound on target. City continued to press forward in search of a third, but went into the interval two goals to the good.

The second half was barely a minute old when City did get the third; a poor backpass was seized upon by Cummins, who slotted home his second and City’s third

At that stage, City looked home and dry but, on the hour mark, the home side were handed a lifeline when Beattie was adjudged to have fouled McAleer and Morgan fired home the resulting penalty.

The home side, buoyed by the goal, seized the initiative and pushed forward seeking a way back into the game. While they had a good spell of possession, City looked solid at the back and began to get back into the game. Cummins sealed the win, and his hat-trick, at the death, getting on the end of Shane Griffin’s cross to make it 4-1.