16/09/05
http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/w...OWirIStPSk.asp
Super Devine keeps Slavia in Czech
Slavia Prague 2 Cork City 0
By Liam Mackey, Prague
CORK CITY came close to grabbing an away goal in Prague last night but, as they face into the second leg of their UEFA Cup first round tie in Turner’s Cross in a fortnight’s time.
They can count themselves lucky that Slavia Prague failed to make more of a string of chances.
But thanks in no small part to an inspired display by City ‘keeper Michael Devine, the tie is still alive. Speaking from his hospital bed in Cork, manager Damien Richardson declared: “It’s two-nil, it’s far from over and they’re in for a torrid time in Turner’s Cross.”
In Prague, stand-in boss Dave Hill reflected on a night of mixed fortunes for Cork.
“Coming in at 0-0 after the first half was a little bit of a bonus,” he said. “We didn’t play to the best of our ability in the first half. It was a European tie and we played as if we were playing an eircom League game.
It was far too open. Every time we attacked, we left ourselves open in midfield which exposed our back line. But we came into it much more in the second half and were unlucky not to score ourselves. It’s still only half-time in the tie.”
It was certainly an exceptionally busy night for a Cork rearguard which saw Alan Bennett return to partner Dan Murray in the heart of the defence. In midfield, Greg O’Halloran missed out, as the Dave Hill/Damien Richardson brains trust opted for a central partnership of Joe Gamble and George O’Callaghan, with Liam Kearney and Roy O’Donovan providing the width.
For all their injury problems in the run-up to the game, Slavia Prague’s attacking 3-5-2 formation caused Cork all sorts of problems in a first half in which the chances came thick and fast for the home side. Invariably, Slavia had eight men pressing forward and when Liam Kearney and Roy O’Donovan were sucked in to deal with the thrust through the middle, it left space for the Prague wing-backs to cause trouble on the flanks.
In a sign of what was to come, Prague forced two half-chances in the first seven minutes, and Dvento should have done better when fizzing an angled shot just wide of the post ten minutes later. There was almost an exact repeat in the 19th minute when Hubacek’s defence-splitting pass put Pitak in behind Neal Horgan, but Michael Devine was relieved to see the shot drilled just wide.
Five minutes later, the goalkeeper was called into action again, this time diving low to smother Pesir’s close-range header. Hrdlicka had already cracked a shot off the woodwork when the Cork number one really excelled himself around the half-hour mark, somehow keeping out Pitak’s header with the aid of bar and post. And then two minutes from half-time, the keeper once more came to the rescue with a brilliant one-handed save to keep out Hrdlicvka’s powerful header.
Although Cork were mainly on the backfoot, it wasn’t all one way traffic.
Just 15 minutes into the game, George O’Callaghan and Roy O’Donovan had linked up well on the right, and when the latter’s cross reached John O’ Flynn, his header was superbly turned over the top by Kozacik. With Neale Fenn holding the ball up well, Cork always looked threatening in the final third but Slavia, adept at the fast break, continued to force the pace until the break.
Cork’s resistance was finally broken in the 62nd minute. Under pressure, Dan Murray fouled Krajcik just outside the penalty area and there was nothing even the outstanding Devine could do, as Hrdlicka swept the free-kick into the top corner.
But far from heads dropping, the Slavia goal served only to inspire City’s best period of the game, including an extraordinary unlucky spell when they were denied three times in quick succession by the woodwork.
First, Dan Murray’s diving header from O’Callaghan’s free came back off the post and then, after O’Donovan had headed another O’Callaghan ball back across the box, Gamble’s shot hit the post and O’Donovan did the same from the rebound.
How costly those near-misses could prove to be, was underlined 11 minutes from the end when Slavia doubled their advantage. To Cork’s anger, Liam Kearney seemed to have been fouled by Krajcik close to the touchline - a point highlighted by Dave Hill in his post-match press conference - but after the ref waved play on, the number 19 sent in a cross which was headed home low at the near post by the stooping Karel Pitak.
To their credit, Cork rallied yet again and almost grabbed a crucial away goal in the final minute when Kozacik’s reflex save stopped O’Donovan’s close-range shot, after the ever-impressive Danny Murphy’s run and cross from the right.
A return of two goals was probably the least that Slavia deserved overall but, having come so close to netting themselves, City will be disappointed that they go into the second leg with nothing to show for their efforts.
But as both Dave Hill and Karel Jarolim agreed afterwards - it’s only half-time in the tie. Said Hill: “It’s tantalising. We didn’t play to our full potential tonight. The previous two away legs we performed far better even though we created less chances. Tonight we didn’t take our chances, rode our luck a little in the first half and came into it a lot more in the second.
“We’ve got to be positive. If we can get an early goal and get the crowd behind us, we will have everything to play for in Cork,” said Hill.
SLAVIA PRAGUE: Kozacik, Hubacek, Latka, Zabojnik, Krajcik, Suchy, Jarolim (Fort 69), Svento, Hrdlicka, Pitak, Pesir (Kratochvil 79)
CORK CITY: Devine, Horgan, Murphy, Bennett, Murray, O’Donovan, O’Callaghan, Gamble, Kearney, Fenn (O’ Halloran 71), O’ Flynn
Referee: Z. Siric (Croatia).
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