Cork City 0 Bohemians 1

CORK City remain bottom of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division after they fell to Bohemians at Turner’s Cross on Sunday evening.

Ninth before the restart, City dropped to tenth as a result of Sligo Rovers’ win away to Derry City on Friday night and they were unable to overcome the concession of an early goal by Bohs’ Andre Wright here.

The City team showed five changes from the last league outing, the defeat to St Patrick’s Athletic in early March. Samuel Olowu was the only defensive survivor, partnered by Alan Bennett in the middle with debutant Uniss Kargbo starting at right-back and the returning Kevin O’Connor at left-back.

Unfortunately, they were to come under pressure within four minutes of the start as Bohs took the lead. With Danny Grant, a lively threat throughout, allowed to come in from the left, his curling shot was palmed away by Mark McNulty but striker Wright was quickest to react and he slotted home the rebound, the ball going in off the post.

Bohs, third in the table, were naturally able to settle down after that. A low Grant delivery head to be cleared by Bennett while former City man Dan Casey – who scored in this fixture last season as City won – sent a low free narrowly wide before heading off target from JJ Lunney’s corner.

Deshane Dalling, who, like Olowu, has been retained on loan, had City’s best change of the opening quarter but his low shot wasn’t difficult for Stephen McGuinness in the Bohs goal to deal with. Dylan McGlade, set up by Alec Byrne, had a 30-yard shot which was wayward but City’s skittishness was evident as a short McNulty goal-kick to Olowu was returned with such vigour that the keeper was momentarily in trouble before clearing.

Shortly before the half-hour, Bohs midfielder Dawson Devoy should have done better when Grant found him in space but he shot over the bar. From the goal-kick, the ball almost went all the way through to centre-forward Cian Murphy but he was denied at the expense of a corner by left-back Anto Breslin.

Overall, though, a second Bohs goal looked likelier than a City equaliser before half-time. Kris Twardek shot wide with a shot from the right, then McNulty had to be alert to punch away Andy Lyons’ cross and deny Wright a second. Soon after that, Wright had a sniff of a second with a shot from outside the area but his shot deflected off Olowu – who had been booked for a crunching challenge on JJ Lunney – and out for a corner.

Just before half-time, an inviting Kevin O’Connor cross from the left had potential but nobody could get on the end of it. However, after the restart, Bohs picked up the momentum again and City were once again on the back foot.

Grant and Wright but had curling efforts which weren’t far away in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, but just after the hour-mark City almost found a fortuitous leveller. When McGuinness sought to clear following a backpass, Murphy pressed well and got a block in. For a brief moment, it looked as if the ball might loop into the net but it went just over the crossbar.

It was a brief interruption to the general flow, however, and Twardek should have bone better with a header from a Dawson Devoy free kick while Grant tested McNulty with a shot from outside the area before Wright’s 30-yarder went whistling past the post.

Murphy had another chance to level on 27 but headed over from Cian Coleman’s delivery while Casey and Grant set up Lunney for a shot at the other end, held by McNulty after he had initially parried it.

Dalling and sub Cory Galvin had late attempts for an equaliser which McGuinness saved. Then, in injury time, another sub, Dáire O’Connor, had a low cross for Dalling but the winger miscued and Bohs held on to move to within a point of second-placed Dundalk. City travel to Waterford on Friday, but before that they have the Munster Senior Cup final against Rockmount at Turner’s Cross on Tuesday.

CORK CITY: McNulty; Kargbo, Olowu, Bennett, K O’Connor; Coleman, Ochieng, Byrne (Galvin 72); McGlade (D O’Connor 67), Murphy, Dalling.

BOHEMIANS: McGuinness; Lyons, Cornwall, Casey, Breslin; Buckley, Lunney; Twardek, Devoy (Ward 85), Grant; Wright (Corcoran 85).

Referee: S Grant (Wexford).