Composed Cork City earn a point at Tolka Park

📷 KBD Photos

City travelled to the capital to take on bitter rivals and last year's League of Ireland champions, Shelbourne. The Rebel Army were playing in their second away game of the season, after the cancellation in Tallaght and the disappointing 2-1 loss to Waterford in the RSC. City were coming off of a 1-1 draw at home to Sligo Rovers, a game lathered in controversy as City were denied a goal and two penalties in the match.

A casualty of that bout against Sligo was Malik Dijksteel, as after his injury sustained from a tackle by Conor Reynolds, he was the only change from that side, as he was replaced by Freddie Anderson who returned from suspension. City seemed to set up in a 532 setup with the return of Anderson.

As for Shelbourne, they made three changes from the side that lost to Drogheda last time out. Evan Caffrey, Mipo Odubeko and Mark Coyle made way, and they were replaced by Sean Gannon, JJ Lunney and Ali Coote.

The away side started lively and almost took the lead just three minutes in. Benny Couto swung in a free kick from the right hand side which landed on the head of Charlie Lyons, who powered a header towards goal, but Conor Kearns reacted brilliantly and tipped it over the bar.

City were putting pressure on Shels, probably more than Damien Duff’s side expected considering the significant absences in the Tim Clancy's squad. Even with City’s pressure Shelbourne didn't look very impressive and it was evident the visitors had a chance to get something from the game.

Despite Shels being off their game, they still had chances of their own, and they put Tein Troost to work with thirteen minutes to go in the half. McInroy layed it off to Ali Coote in midfield, who went running at the City backline. Coote beat two or three defenders before releasing a shot at goal from the edge of the box, but Tein Troost was equal to it and got down low to keep Coote’s shot out.

City had another chance to take the lead on the stroke of half time, but couldn't get the breakthrough. Ellis Chapman played a wayward pass, which found the feet of Ruairi Keating on the edge of the Shels box. Keating laid it centrally to Alex Nolan, who shifted it to Kitt Nelson in the left channel. Nelson took a touch and drilled a low shot towards goal, but Conor Kearns was there to keep it out. 

So, despite City being the better side in the first half, they went into halftime with nothing to show for it.

The away side were looking to change that in the second half and be more clinical, and they certainly did that five minutes into the half. Milan Mbeng won a duel with Mipo Odubeko halfway inside the Shelbourne half. The ball fell to Kitt Nelson, who laid it off for Rio Shipston to have a crack at goal. Rio’s shot was deflected and Kearns managed to keep it out with his feet, but the ball rolled to Ruairi Keating, who was on hand to dispatch the rebound and give the Leesiders a well deserved lead.

Shels sprung into life after the goal, and started putting serious pressure on the City backline, and went so close to levelling the game in the sixty fifth minute. Cameron Ledwidge swung in a cross which landed at the feet of Ali Coote. Coote’s shot was blocked, with the ball looping up in the air. The ball once again fell to the feet of Coote, who played it to Sean Boyd at a tight angle. Boyd’s shot beat Troost, but Darragh Crowley was on the line and managed to flick it over the bar to preserve City’s lead.

Shels pressure was rewarded, as they levelled the game with twenty minutes to play. McInroy played it out wide to Cameron Ledwidge, who swung a cross into the box. The cross was flicked away, but only as far as Evan Caffrey, who struck it on the volley from the right hand side of the box and tucked it in the bottom left corner.

From there, the game turned end to end, with Shels looking for a winner and City looking to keep a point, but having some good attacks themselves. The hosts almost had their winner with seven minutes to play, but another goal line clearance kept them at bay. A long ball into the box from Shels was contested by Tein Troost and John Martin. Martin looked to have impeded Troost as he tried to claim the ball, but no whistle came and Martin collected the ball and shot at a Troost-less goal, but Darragh Crowley was once again there to clear it off the line.

Both sides were pushing and pushing, but it was the visitors who came agonisingly close to a winner in added time. MIlan Mbeng picked up the ball on the right hand side in his own half, and bombed down the right wing all the way down to the byline. Mbeng put a ball across the box, with Paddy Barrett getting a slight touch on it, a touch that wrong footed an open Harvey Skieters as the ball rolled just past him leaving City fans rueing what might have been.

And that was that, City claimed a well earned point in Tolka Park, with City possibly missing out on two points after not taking advantage of the poor Shelbourne performance in the first half. That being said, City were very impressive on the night, with the side showing a lot of grit and desire and putting themselves on the line to try to get as much as they could from the game. The only thing City were lacking was a bit of firepower off the bench, which with the injuries that have been sustained and our lack of deep squad depth, could prove an issue for the next few weeks.

As for Shelbourne, it's one of the poorer performances in the Premier Division under Damien Duff, especially in that first half. They lacked tempo at times and, apart from the twenty minutes after the City goal, they didn't seem to create many huge chances and struggled to truly crack a strong and hungry City backline. 

My Man of the Match, for the second game running, goes to Milan Mbeng. The Frenchman was the heart and soul of the City backline that kept Sean Boyd and Mipo Odubeko quiet for the game. Mbeng was everywhere across the backline and was immense all night long, and even almost set up a winner right at the death with an unbelievable run down the right wing. Mbeng is quickly becoming a fan favourite and it's clear to see why.

Both sides now head into the international break. When they return, City will return to the Cross to take on Drogheda United on the 28th of March, live on Virgin Media. As for Shelbourne, they'll travel to the Showgrounds to take on Sligo Rovers on the same day.