City buried by bullish Bohs

📷 KBD Photos

Cork City were fresh off the back of their win in the cup against Waterford as they travelled to Dalymount on Friday night, where they were beaten 3-0 by the Dublin 7 outfit. City soaked in a lot of pressure in the first half and were only down one goal thanks to some heroics from Conor Brann. They started the second half decently but began to struggle again and suffered two late sucker punches to bury the game.

Ger Nash made just one change to the side that progressed in the cup, with Harry Nevin dropping out and being replaced by Preston loanee Kaedyn Kamara.

Alan Reynolds made three changes to his team that were knocked out of the cup by Sligo, with Talbot, Kavanagh and Buckley all falling out, with McDonnell, Chorazka and Smith coming in.

It didn't take long for the first chance of the game to present itself, and it was the visitors who almost hit the front after nine seconds. The kick off went back to Conor Brann who sent a long ball down towards the left wing. It was knocked down by Seani Maguire to Matthew Murray, who flicked it back to Maguire, allowing the striker to release a low shot towards the bottom left corner, but Chorazka got down and pushed it wide.

Bohs began to take control of the game and continuously pressure City, and the pressure paid off as they took the lead after twenty four minutes. Jordan Flores picked up the ball in midfield and drove at the City backline. He found Ross Tierney at the edge of the box who flicked it down the right channel to send Douglas James-Taylor through on goal, and the former Drogheda striker made no mistake and put his team a goal to the good.

City were struggling to cope with Bohs’ firepower as the hosts came close to a second fourteen minutes later. A loose long ball from Jordan Flores was intercepted by Darragh Crowley, but his touch was poor and found the feet of Adam McDonnell. McDonnell slid it left to Ross Tierney, who released a powerful effort that crashed off the crossbar to deny Bohs a second.

The hosts were again denied a second on the stroke of half time. Jordan Flores dinked a ball over the top of the City defence for Ross Tierney to chase. Tierney guided the ball past the oncoming Conor Brann, but Matty Kiernan managed to recover and clear the ball off the line.

And after a very sloppy first half performance from City, they’d have counted themselves lucky to only be a goal down at the break.

Bohs came out into the second half looking to pick up where they left off, and they again went close to doubling their lead in the sixtieth minute. A good cross by Liam Smith found the feet of Dayle Rooney in the box. Rooney shifted trying to work a shot and eventually hit an effort towards the top left corner, but Conor Brann pushed it away at full stretch to keep City in the game.

Bohs kept pushing for the second but again wasted a big chance seven minutes later. Bohs broke on the counter and managed to release Rhys Brennan down the left hand side after a hooked pass by Ross Tierney. Brennan took on Freddie Anderson and beat him before cutting into the box, but somehow dragged his shot just wide of the near post.

Bohs efforts did eventually pay dividends with five minutes of normal time to play. A Jordan Flores throw-in from the left hand side made its way towards James-Taylor in the box. The striker let the ball run across his body before curling a first time shot into the top right corner to make sure the three points were staying in Phibsboro.

The hosts weren't quite done there as they made it three deep into additional time. James Clarke slipped a ball down the right channel for the oncoming Dawson Devoy. Devoy faked a shot before cutting inside and faking another shot, sending two City defenders before burying the ball into the back of the net to grab his side a late third.

The game finished there as the travelling City fans were left hugely disappointed by their side’s poor showing in Dalymount, which ultimately leaves the, even further adrift at the bottom, as thanks to a late winner from Owen Elding in the RSC, they are now ten points behind Sligo Rovers. After the improvements in recent weeks, it was a huge step back from Get Nash's side, and perhaps a fatal one at that. In contrast to the past couple games, City really struggled to keep it tight at the back and leaked plenty of chances to Bohs, which if they were a bit more clinical, could've led to a slaughtering.

City were fairly sloppy going forward too, having problems creating any real chances that might've got them back in the game. This loss, in my opinion, leaves City all but relegated as I really don't see any way back anymore. It’s cup or bust this season now as it looks certain that it'll be Longford, Athlone and Kerry next season.

My Man of the Match goes to Bohs’ Dawson Devoy. The home side had free reign in the midfield all game long, and it was Devoy who was at the heart of that. The former MK Dons man pulled all the strings for Bohs going forward and was their main creative outlet all night, and even got a goal for himself at the end to top his performance off.

Focus for Ger Nash’s side now turns to this Friday as they host Waterford at the Cross for the second tim in three weeks, but this time in the league. As for Bohs, they travel to the Showgrounds on Saturday to face Sligo Rovers.