Wexford FC v Cork City

[ForzaForth]

Very comfortable win for Cork City in Ferrycarrig tonight as they dominated the game for long periods with the away side showing good attacking quality as well as higher levels of fitness and physicality to suffocate the Wexford effort. With Adam Verdon and Robbie McCourt injured, Wexford brought in Mikie Rowe who returned from suspension and Evan Osam and went with Paul, Max, Evan, Dean, Mikie, Zayd, Kaylem, Jamie, Ryan, Dylan and Jake. The pattern of the game was set from the start with Cork dominating notably through the wings of Josh Fitzpatrick and Hans Mpongo and with Wexford only able to occasionally clear the ball forward in the air where it was soon returned by the three Cork centre-halves of Feely, Kelleher and Lyons. It led to continued Cork pressure and the Wexford defence soon conceded a peno on eight minutes when a Cork forward was pushed over in the Wexford penalty area. Seani Maguire sent Paul Martin the wrong way from the spot and Cork were a goal to the good. It was 2-0 on sixteen minutes when Wexford lost the ball in their own third and Hans Mpongo curled a nice shot from wide left into the far corner of Wexford’s net. 2-0 to Cork. It took Wexford until midway through the half to get their first shot on target when Mikie Rowe broke free down Wexford’s right, but it proved an easy save for Brann in the Cork goal. Wexford grew slightly more into the game as the first half progressed and Dean Larkin won a rare header in the Cork area which Brann had to get low down to save and, with five minutes to go, Mikie Rowe had a left-footed effort a yard wide of the Cork upright. 2-0 to Cork at half-time and with the away side well-deserving of their two-goal lead.

[ForzaForth]

Wexford needed to get an early goal back in the second period to make a game of it, but a stooping near-post header by Seani Maguire from a Cork free early on in the second half killed any hopes that Wexford might have had. 3-0 to Cork. City probably took their foot off the gas as the second half progressed as Wexford began to look a bit more threatening on the break helped by the introduction of the Wexford substitutes, particularly Callum Flynn and Liam Doyle. Another error by Wexford in their own third led to Maguire feeding Ruairi Keating and he finished comfortably for 4-0. However, Cork City were not immune from making mistakes at the back themselves and one such error led to Callum Flynn being put free inside the Cork area where he finished nicely past Brann for 4-1. Game then was only waiting for the final whistle with Cork securing the three points far more comfortably than the home supporters might have expected. Good performances by Ryan Ritchie, Jamie Wynne, Dean Larkin and Evan Osam as well as the Wexford substitutes. Crowd was reported to be 1,219.