Cork City get their season on track by hitting UCD for four at Turner's Cross
Matt Healy, Cork City FC, gets his shot away to score the opening goal, under pressure from, Donal Higgins, UCD. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
CORK City registered their first victory since returning to the Premier Division with an emphatic victory over UCD at Turners Cross on Friday night.
Goals from Matt Healy, Darragh Crowley, Ruairi Keating and Ethon Varian ensured that the majority of the 4,857 spectators in attendance went home happy.
It was a comfortable evening for City with the hosts in control of the game from start to finish. The Rebel Army overran the Students and had far too much quality for UCD. The scoreline reflected City’s dominance of the game and they may even be disappointed not to have won by more.
There were three changes to the City starting 11. Matt Healy and Daniel Krezic replaced Ethon Varian and Jonas Hakkinen respectively, with Jimmy Corcoran making a rare start in goal for City in place of Tobi Oluwayemi, with the Celtic loanee absent from the matchday squad. Colin Healy also made a change in his sides’ formation, with the City manager opting for a 4-3-3 City's promising start was rewarded in the 14th minute.
Matt Healy was left in acres of space outside the penalty area, and unsurprisingly the Ipswich Town loanee punished UCD with a well-driven shot low in the corner of Lorcan Healy’s net.
The goal was no more than City deserved. The home side were aggressive with their play. They were purposeful in their play. The Students struggled to contain City and weren’t capable of matching the tempo set by the home side. City should have doubled their lead when Josh Honohon found space in the six-yard box but his header sailed over the crossbar.
Kerzic was causing the Students a lot of problems and almost added his name to the scoresheet 10 minutes before the interval. The Swede was quick to capitalise on an error from Harvey O’Brien after the defender completely mistimed his clearance.
However, with only the goalkeeper to beat, Kerzic was denied by Lorcan Healy. Perhaps the amount of time the City player had to think about his finish played its part in his eventual miss, but Kerzic will know he should have scored.
City did manage to further their advantage on the stroke of half-time when Crowley calmly placed the ball into the UCD net from inside the penalty area after being smartly set up by Keating.
The City frontman was celebrating a goal of his own midway through the second half when Varian did well to pick out Keating with his cross, which left the former Galway United player with the simplest of finishes.
Varian was next to get in on the act when the former Greenwood FC schoolboy rose highest in the penalty area to guide his header back across the goal beyond UCD’s Lorcan Healy to score on his home debut for the club.
Corcoran, Crowley (O’Brien-Whitemarsh 77), Coleman, Gilchrist, Honohan; Bargary, Bolger, Healy (Walker 73), Coffey (Winbo 59), Krezic (Varian 59); Keating (Owolabi 72).
Healy; Gallagher, Keaney, O’Brien (Norris 59), Dignam (Izekor 69); Barr (O’Connor 69), Keane, Higgins, Behan, Nolan (Clarke 86); Bishop (Dempsey 59).
S Grant
