Throwback Thursday: Cork City held their nerve to win U21 league title
Cork City's Jamie Nolan celebrates with Michael Mulconry after scoring the winning goal in injury time against Bohemians in the U21 League Final at Turner's Cross. Picture: Denis Minihane.
TWENTY years ago this week, Cork City beat Bohemians 2-1 at Turner’s Cross and won their first-ever U21 league title.
A team managed by Stuart Ashton and containing a number of future stars went out and upset the odds with Man of the Match Jamie Nolan scoring the winner with a volley in injury time.
The key moment in the game was a reflex save from Mark McNulty that denied Jonathon O’Brien with nine minutes left at Turner’s Cross.
That summed up the entirety of City’s run to the league final, a time when the club repeatedly produced against the slimmest of odds.
To qualify from the Munster section of the competition, they had to win their final four league matches and travel to Sligo Rovers for the quarter-finals.
City recorded a 1-0 win on the road and that put them into the next round, where a high-flying St Patrick’s Athletic team awaited.
The Saints' pedigree was evident and they led 2-1 with three minutes to go at Turner’s Cross. City were playing that night on the back of losing the 2002 semi-final to an own goal, and they dug deep to score an equaliser through Eoghan Lougheed.
McNulty stopped a shot from Aidan O’Keeffe in the penalty shoot-out and City progressed to play a talented Bohemians team in the league final.
The Gypsies were the form team at U21 level in Ireland that year as they lost just twice in the league, against Longford Town and Shelbourne. They also beat a Kerry District League side that topped the southern section of the league, a division that also featured Cork City.
Ashton knew what Bohemians were capable of and he brought the team in for training just two days after they knocked out St Pat's. His logic was simple for not giving his players a break.
“We’re not doing anything different – it’s what got us here so far, so why change it?"
All that work was nearly undone in the first minute when a kick-out from McNulty went straight to James Bell. Luckily for City, this attempt went high and wide but his next shot was a glancing header that gave Bohemians the lead.
It took City a few minutes to regain their composure and when they did, a shot from Nolan went narrowly wide.
If this was a warning, they made sure to deliver with their next advance as Denis Behan fired in the equaliser with half an hour played at Turner’s Cross.
The club immediately took confidence from this and two chances fell to Lougheed, who was denied on both occasions.
This didn’t interrupt City’s momentum, it actually fuelled their sense of belief, a feeling that only increased after the break.
City thought their moment was Nolan getting brought down by Alan Byrne inside the area. Their penalty appeal was denied by the referee, but Nolan didn’t seem to mind as one of his next touches of the ball was the volley that won the club the league title.
Ashton couldn’t believe the result after the whistle, a general feeling that was derived from his side’s run to the final.
“Call it fate or call it luck that Limerick did us a favour against Waterford, from then on it was in our own hands,” he told .
“We knew we had to win the three games before that, so they were cup ties for us as well.
"We did that and I think we played football and we showed that we’re one of the best teams in the league. It looked like we were heading into extra time again, but at that stage, I couldn’t see us losing.”
Bohemians gave full credit to City for their win after the game, with manager Gino Brazil stating: “For the first 15 minutes we played really well but I think overall Cork were more physical than we were. I can’t argue with it because overall I think they did deserve to win the game.”
The aftermath of the result could be seen for many years on Leeside, with a number of players from that City team going on to have great careers with the club.
Denis Behan and Cillian Lordon won the Premier Division title with City in 2005, and McNulty helped them lift the double in 2017.
Lougheed would become a legend with Avondale United as he featured on a number of sides that hoovered up silverware and regularly won some of the biggest prizes at their level, like the FAI Intermediate Cup and the Munster Senior League Premier Division.
It was a historic day for football in Cork, one that delivered and promised so much more. Given what the players went on to achieve, it’s arguably one of the most underrated achievements by City at any level.
