Lafferty on the double to send Hoops

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Two goals from Danny Lafferty ensured Shamrock Rovers will continue their bid to retain the FAI Extra Cup for the first time since 1987.

Cork City looked like an upgraded team from state to have them stuck at the end of the SSE Airtricity League, but a hit from Gearoid Morrisey wasn’t enough to propel the victory against an expert Rovers team.

The Hoops made four changes from the team that produced heroism in the penalty shoot-out against Finnish team Ilves Tampere in the Europa League last Thursday.

Aaron McEneff, Aaron Greene and Ronan Finn fell to the bench as Liam Scales joined the U21 Republic of Ireland for a training camp in Northern Ireland.

As they usually do at Tallaght Stadium, the Rovers had most of the possession from kick-off.

The locals’ first opportunity came after three minutes when Graham Burke, with his back to the goal, threw the ball towards Lafferty on the left side of the area.

However, the forward’s shot deflected from Liam Bossin’s near post.

While City may stay last in the league, the average punter (if allowed in) would have been forgiven for thinking otherwise.

Neale Fenn’s side looked well-trained with a fluid front three from Dylan McGlade, Deshane Dalling and Connor Simpson showing pace and a willingness to swap positions in hopes of dragging down the Rovers defense.

Crucially, McGlade and Dalling were also quick to fit into a bench of five in midfield when necessary, allowing City to go from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1 when out of possession.

However, unfortunately for his attacking ambitions, that was the most prevalent.

The hosts kept most of the ball, but battled for chances until their goal in the 38th minute.

Burke fired a shot from 25 meters that was parried by Bossin in the way of Lafferty, who took the opportunity to score his first goal for the club.

Burke may have had a chance to score two minutes later when Jack Byrne found him between two defenders.

The Preston North End loan, however, was disappointed by his first touch when the ball rolled past his path.

City traded their goalkeeper at half-time with Mark McNulty coming in for Bossin and McNulty was in the line of fire almost immediately when Dean Williams forced him to make a strong save in the 46th minute.

Cork then managed to level things out with his first attack of the restart in the 50th minute.

Dylan McGlade was the creator as he charged into the area from the right wing before deftly leading it towards his captain Morrisey just outside the six-yard area.

His shot flew past Alan Mannus in the Rovers’ goal.

In the 67th minute, Williams found Byrne in the perfect position to shoot at the edge of the area.

While all natural instinct would have been to fire a shot toward goal, Byrne displayed the characteristic composure to shuffle the ball to the left of Lafferty, who passed McNulty for his second of the game.

It may have been stun after no games in their last 10 days, but the visitors looked more tired from both sides after the Rovers got ahead again.

Rather than push for another draw, they were often left behind when Stephen Bradley’s team seemed to increase their lead.

Burke crashed a free-throw arc only for McNulty to clear it with 15 minutes to go.

Greene replaced the hosts and joined Lafferty in the final minutes of the game, but the Rovers couldn’t find the extra goal they seemed so eager to score.

For Fenn and Cork City, the focus is now on the struggle to get out of the bottom of the First Division.

In the meantime, the Rovers have more glamorous battles ahead of them, they will strive for the trophies on all fronts with a Europa League qualifier against AC Milan next month.

Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Joey O’Brien (Ronan Finn, 74), Rhys Marshall, Roberto Lopes, Lee Grace, Danny Lafferty; Gary O’Neill (Aaron McEneff, 74), Dean Williams (Aaron Greene, 74); Dylan Watts; Jack Byrne; Graham Burke (Brandon Kavanagh, 89 years old).

Cork City: Liam Bossin (Mark McNulty, 46 years old); Rob Slevin, Jake O’Brien, Kevin O’Connor, Charlie Fleming (Dale Holland, 46); Gearoid Morrissey, Henry Ochieng, Cian Coleman; Dylan McGlade (Ricardo Dinanga, 88), Deshane Dalling (Daire O’Connor, 87); Connor Simpson (Scott Fenwick, 75 years old).

Referee: Neil doyle



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