ONCE again a single goal was enough to secure the win at Ferrycarrig Park for Cork City against Wexford.

A fourth-minute header from the unmarked Josh Honohan keeps Colin Healy’s men top of the First Division, for the moment anyhow.

Conceding early goals seems to be a downfall for Ian Ryan’s Wexford men all season and to be fair to the home side on Friday night, they did very little wrong for the following 92 minutes.

They played the better football, were the more aggressive side, piled the pressure on City but just couldn’t score but was this because City were solid and comfortable with their 1-0 lead. Honohan, Cian Coleman and Jonas Hakkinen were comfortable in the back and while both sides created a few half chances in the first half, it certainly was City who were the happier at the break.

The second half was much the same as the first with City content to defend for the entire 45 minutes with very little attacking threat. Wexford on the other hand battled hard for the equaliser. They had some superb individual performances and you could see why they were on such a good run of form.

If they could cut out conceding so early, it would be interesting to see the difference in their points tally, as apart from that early goal from Honohan, Wexford never looked troubled here.

FITNESS

They matched Colin Healy’s men for fitness, and the game really could have gone either way. However credit to City. They got what they set out to get and while not always an attractive game to watch, the three points on the road will all they care about.

There were a few changes to Healys starting 11 from last week’s draw to Galway. It was a poor performance from City against Galway and whether or not they were his reasons for changing the line-up, it certainly was refreshing to see him mix things up.

Barry Coffey, James Doona and Darragh Crowley were given a start ahead of Cian Bargarry, Kevin O’Connor and the injured Ally Gilchrist.

Again, I can’t pick out a City player that overly impressed me. There’s still not a player who excites when on the ball.

Maybe they’re just being cautious, doing the basic things right, and look, who am I to question it, when it’s working for them. 

They are still getting the results. However, as a football fan, I would love to see a more creative side willing to take chances.

They are top of the league. They have the players to do so. Surely they can be creative going forward and still be confident to know they can defend. They have been solid in the defence all season.

So, I think now is the time to trust themselves going forward and let’s not be more worried about losing, than trying to win a game. Playing attractive football is what will bring crowds to the Cross. Healy has the players to do so.

Let’s hope we see it in their next two home games against Athlone and Treaty.