Cork City – Shamrock Rovers

Recap

Cork City ended a frustrating Friday night with only a point after a 0-0 draw with Shamrock Rovers.

In a game with little clear cut chances, City were awarded a penalty shortly after half-time when Karl Sheppard was brought down by Joey O’Brien. Rovers’ goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu denied Kieran Sadlier from the spot.

John Caulfield made three changes from the side that lost 2-1 to Dundalk seven days prior. Colm Horgan, Jimmy Keohane and Barry McNamee were replaced by Conor McCarthy, Garry Buckley and Karl Sheppard.

Chances in the first half were few and far between, however City did dominate possession and looked mostly likely to grab an opener. Buckley found himself in space inside the box after some neat link-up play with Graham Cummins, but he curled his shot just wide of the post.

Former City midfielder Greg Bolger came closest for Rovers but his long distance strike went harmlessly over the bar.

Fifteen minutes after the restart, City were handed a golden opportunity to take all three points. Karl Sheppard raced into the box and was taken down by Joey O’Brien, referee Robert Hennessy immediately pointing to the spot. Sadlier, City’s designated penalty taker, powered the spot-kick towards the bottom left corner of the goal but in-form goalkeeper Bazunu got a strong hand to it and forced the ball out for a corner.

Sadlier had a handful of long-distance efforts, but with the away side appearing to be satisfied with a point, the Leesiders failed to carve out any clear cut opportunities.