Ruairí Keating to the rescue as Cork City scrape home win over Treaty United
Mark Murphy of Treaty United in action against Hans Mpongo of Cork City during the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division match between Cork City and Treaty United at Turner's Cross in Cork. Picture: Matt Browne/Sportsfile
Blushes spared. And Ruairí Keating is back.
A crowd of 3,520 packed in at Turner’s Cross for Cork City's First Division return and Barry Robson's first league game in charge. They got a late rescue act from Keating and gave new boy Hans Mpongo a deserved ovation.
One minute into the four additional minutes, 16-year-old Cillian Murphy threaded Mpongo through. City’s new signing danced down the left flank before squaring it to Keating who, after taking one touch, drove for the corner. His effort clipped the post, struck Treaty netminder Jack Brady and rolled in.
Fortunate? Certainly. Undeserved? Perhaps. But quality counts. And City should have more than enough of it on their return to the second tier after last season’s horror show.
Seven of Friday night's starting 11 lined out in last year's FAI Cup final defeat to Shamrock Rovers.
The same faces weren’t the only parallels to last year, though. Another Usher out banner was raised, this one accompanied with the Latin phrase .
Deeds, not words.
City left it late to bring the deeds. Three points secured against a stubborn Treaty United. Tommy Barrett's side will feel hard done by not to claim something. For large stretches of the first half, they were the better side.
Captain Mark Walsh had the game's first real chance, a close-range miss after four minutes. Two minutes later the visitors were in again when Roy Lawlor crept in behind Rory Feely after a miskicked clearance, but Conor Brann made the stop.
City's first shot on target came from Keating in the tenth minute after Mpongo teed him up. Mpongo came close later when Josh Fitzpatrick – who was lively down the flank – knocked one in, but Mpongo couldn’t connect.
Treaty came closest to opening the scoring in a dull first half, Ben Feeney saw his close-range effort crash off the post in the 22nd minute. The hosts were lucky not to be caught, but neither side did much to trouble the opposing goalkeepers.
On the restart, Raphael Ohin struck an effort from distance but Treaty's threat immediately dropped off. Even then, City were slow to string much together.
Mpongo – very impressive on his First Division debut – came close twice in three minutes. He was involved again in the 61st minute when he worked it to Keating who knocked it on for Seani Maguire, but the City forward couldn't reach it at the far post.
Four minutes later City were back in again. Centre-backs Fiacre Kelleher and Charlie Lyons combined, the latter laying it across the six-yard box but no City shirt was there to finish. The ball stayed in play until Feely followed up with a long-range effort that was kept out for a corner.
Chances became sparse as time wore on, but City’s change of shape raised the tempo and got the home crowd behind them. They came close, Maguire would see an effort kept out by Brady in the 77th minute, Kelleher too with a headed chance in the 86th minute after Cillian Murphy’s free kick in.
City – who arrived at the Cross with only seven substitutes – looked set for a disappointing draw. Then they got one more chance to make the visitors pay.
Brann; Feely (Murray 80), Kelleher, Lyons; Fitzpatrick, Crowley, Bolger, Drinan (Murphy 59); Maguire, Mpongo (Kiernan 90+3); Keating.
Brady; R Lynch, Walsh (c), Nwankwo, B Lynch; Murphy, Ohin, Healy, Lawlor (Cunningham 62); Feeney, Curtis (Oyenuga 81).
D Murphy (Dublin)
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