EA Sports Cup. Round 2
Cork City 7
Waterford United 0
Matt Keane reports
The shooting boots were certainly on as Cork City blitzed a young and inexperienced Waterford United to reach the quarter-finals of the EA Sports Cup at Turner’s Cross on Monday week last.
After a goalless first half, four goals in ten minutes and seven in 25 minutes eased John Caulfield’s side to a comprehensive win and into the last eight of the League Cup competition which was won by St Patrick’s Athletic last year.
After three successive draws in the league, City got back to winning ways in emphatic fashion but the pity was that a crowd of only 646 witnessed the goal fest.
City made nine changes from the team that drew 2-2 in Galway on Friday night with only Eoghan O’Connell and Ian Turner retaining their places while the Blues made wholesale changes too – seven in all – from the side that lost 4-1 to Shelbourne.
City, after successive draws and dropped points against Sligo, Wexford and Galway looked on this EA Sports Cup tie as a golden opportunity to get back to winning ways and they ripped the opposition apart after the interval.
They bombarded their first division opponents in the opening quarter too and created five decent chances to the Blues’ one as Ian Turner, Seanie Maguire, Gavan Holohan, Maguire again and Turner again were all denied goals by some heroic last ditch defending by the visitors.
The Blues, third from bottom in the First Division, were overrun in the opening passages of play and the biggest moment came in the sixth minute when Turner was taken down by Corey Chambers and with the home crowd baying for a stonewall penalty, they were left in dismay when local referee, Anthony Buttimer bizarrely flashed a yellow card to Turner instead.
Waterford’s only sight of goal saw Alan Smith make a fine save at the feet of Robert Buckley after eight minutes when O’Connell left a back pass short.
Waterford’s first corner arrived on 27 minutes, and two minutes later, Darren Murphy’s free kick flashed just over the angle of post and bar at the Shed-end with City 6-2 up on the goal chance count after just over half an hour’s play.
Danny Morrissey opened the scoring on 47 minutes heading home O’Connor’s free kick and the Wexford man set up Turner to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute.
Gavan Holohan fired high into the net after a mistake by James Dermody and it was 4-0 thanks to Gearoid Morrissey with 57 minutes on the clock.
Mark O’Sullivan netted the fifth on the hour, Karl Sheppard headed wide and then debut boy Conor McCarthy headed in Turner’s 70th minute corner.
O’Sullivan netted his second of the night two minutes later as Healy and Sheppard worked the opening for the ex-Avondale United striker to score the seventh with a simple tap-in.
CORK CITY:Smith; McSweeney, O’Connell, Healy, O’Connor; Holohan, G. Morrissey (capt); D. Morrissey, Maguire, Turner; O’Sullivan.
SUBS:McCarthy and Donnellan for Maguire and G. Morrissey (both 58 mins), Sheppard for D. Morrissey (65 mins), Bolger, Buckley & McNulty (not used)
WATERFORD UNITED: Chambers; Reidy, Butler, Mackey, Dermody; Buckley, Murphy, O’Leary (capt), O’Connor; Broaders, McAlavey.
Subs. Sobowale for McAlavey and Nugent for O’Leary (both half-time), Mooney for Buckley (56 mins), Waters, Walsh, Tobin & Sheehan (not used)
REFEREE: Anthony Buttimer (Cork)