St Pat's grab two late goals to break Cork City hearts
Cork City were dealt a crushing blow at Richmond Park as St Patrick’s Athletic snatched a dramatic winner in the fifth minute of injury time.
New City boss Ger Nash, watching from the stands before officially taking charge, would have been heartened by his side’s spirited second-half display — but ultimately left frustrated as Jamie Lennon struck late to deny City the share of the spoils.
City made two changes to the side that narrowly lost to Derry City last week, with Milan Mbeng and Darragh Crowley both unavailable for selection. Into the starting 11 came Josh Fitzpatrick and Kitt Nelson as Liam Kearney and Greg Yelverton were in charge for the game.
In sweltering early-summer heat at Richmond Park, the first half between St Patrick’s Athletic and Cork City struggled to catch fire, with the temperature appearing to take the sting out of both sides’ intensity. The pace of the game was laboured at times, and clear-cut chances were few and far between in a half that was short on entertainment.
St Pat’s shaded proceedings and looked the more composed side in possession, showing greater comfort on the ball. Their greater control eventually told when teenage star Mason Melia — who will join Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in January — opened the scoring with a powerful header. The young forward rose highest in the box to meet a cross and planted the ball beyond Tein Troost. It was a fine finish, though questions will be asked of Djenairo Daniels' marking — the City striker was tracking Melia but allowed him far too much room to attack the ball, lacking the aggression needed in such a key defensive moment.
St Pat’s nearly doubled their lead soon after when Kian Leavy found himself in a great position inside the six-yard box, but Kitt Nelson was well-placed to make a vital block and deny a near-certain goal. Jake Mulraney also had a sight of goal late in the half, bursting into the box, but Troost did well to stand tall and parry his shot away to safety.
For Cork City, attacking moments were limited. Djenairo Daniels and Cathal O’Sullivan tried to inject some urgency and managed to create some discomfort for the Pat’s backline, but ultimately their efforts fell short of truly troubling the hosts.
After a flat first half, City produced a much-improved second period full of energy and intent. While Pats had the first couple of openings after the break — with Aidan Keena and Brandon Kavanagh both sending efforts narrowly wide — it was City who took control. They got their reward when Charlie Lyons rose to meet Evan McLaughlin’s corner and guided a header brilliantly into the far top corner to level the game.
City pushed for a second and almost had it through Lyons again, only for the defender to head off target when left unmarked inside the box. Kitt Nelson also went close, unable to convert a dangerous Harry Nevin delivery as the visitors built momentum.
The breakthrough came when Seani Maguire, who came off the bench, coolly converted a penalty after Al-Amin Kazeem handled inside the area. It looked like that would be enough to seal a vital win — until the final moments of an eventful second half.
Zach Elbououzedi levelled the game and with Pat piling on pressure in the dying moments, the ball broke kindly for Jamie Lennon just inside the area. The midfielder kept his composure and drove a low shot through a crowd of bodies and into the bottom corner past Tein Troost, silencing the City bench and ensuring the hosts got the victory.
Anang; Sjoberg, Hoare, Redmond (Grivosti 68), Kazeem; Leavy (Kavanagh 35), Baggley (McClelland 79), Lennon, Mulraney (Power 77); Melia, Keena (Elbouzedi 68).
Troost; Nevin (Mbeng 69), Anderson, Lyons, Kiernan; Murray, McLaughlin (Maguire 69), Nelson; O'Sullivan, Daniels, Fitzpatrick (Bolger 58).
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