Shelbourne 1-2 Cork City October 29th 2011

The 1st division title decider. Having seen Shelbourne secure promotion on Tuesday night my home team Cork City were playing in Dublin for the first time since I moved up. It was a game I had been waiting for since I made the move to Dublin. Cork only needed a draw to go up but a win would see them crowned 1st division champions.
The game started at a lightning pace and City were ahead after just four minutes as on-loan winger Daryl Horgan sent the 1500 + travelling fans into celebration. The game though did swing in the host's favour with City keeper Mark McNulty needed to stop David Cassidy and the dangerous Philip Hughes. An error from Gavin Kavanagh saw Hughes play Cassidy in on goal who slotted cooly past MCNulty to draw Shelbourne level.
McNulty kept Shelbourne out on a number of ocasions including a one on one with Hughes as Shelbourne looked to take the title. The 2nd half continued on with City coming close on ocasions with Cummins and Derek O'Brien looking dangerous. Vinny Sullivan, on for Davin O'Niell at half-time spurnned a good chance when he powered his shot over form a good position. However the clock was ticking down with Shelbourne starting a hold onto the point needed to secure the title.
Four minutes were added on as both sets of fans got nervous. The clock was ticking down with seconds remaining until we got a goal. The goal came from the forehead of Graham Cummins, City's top scorer for 2010 and 2011. That goal sent the away section rocking with delight. The despair for the hosts as the ghost of the last minute goals flew over Tolka Park yet again.
The final whistle blew with a pitch invasion as City had won the title in Tolka Park for the first trophy since the club became fan owned.

Shelbourne 4-0 Finn Harps October 25th 2011

Shelbourne's 2nd last game of the season was pushed to this date due to their reprive to the FAI cup and victory in the semi-final stage over St Patrick's Athletic. Finn Harps came into this game with nothing to play for having had a below par season of mid table security. Shelbourne knew a win would see them end their five year association with Ireland's 2nd tier.
It was Shelbourne who came storming out of the blocks with their superior quality showing against a poor Finn Harps side. It took just five minutes for Shels to open the socring when Ian Ryan headed home a corner.
Big striker Philip Hughes made it 2-0 just before half-time as Shels took firm control. Shels made it 3-0 mid-way through the 2nd half when David Cassidy netted while Conan Byrne wrapped up the scoring with a 4th just after coming on as a substitute.
As the final whistle sounded the Shels fans invaded the pitch obviously extremely happy that they were finally heading for the premier division after the near misses of recent years.

Shelbourne 1-2 Limerick 16th September 2011

My first game at Tolka Park since moving to Dublin and it was game that showed you have to play to the final whistle. Shelbourne came into this game with three wins from three since that 4-1 defeat to Cork City at the start of August. Limerick on the other hand were after beating Longford since I last saw them against Cork City at the start of September.
The game itself was good in the first half with the home support singing on their side. After 35 minutes their were celebrating as Philip Hughes continued his impressive season by putting Shelbourne in front.
Limerick who had made news earlier in the season with the high profile signings of Joe Gamble and Denis Behan were still finding their stride while also collecting a large amount of yellow cards. The 2nd half saw Limerick get stronger and force Shelbourne into defending. However Shelbourne looked more than capable of keeping them out with a Denis Behan shot over the bar the best they could muster mid way through the 2nd half.
Referee Conor Fitzgerald added four minutes added time as Limerick went in search of an equiliser. That equilising goal was scored in the 91st minute when Paudie Quinn headed home from a corner from the flamboyant Rory Gaffney. However the game wasn't over and Limerick amazingly got a second just a minute later when Denis Behan lashed home a rebound in the six yard box to continue Limerick's push for promotion to the premier division while putting a dent on Shelbourne's own prospects.

Cork City 2-2 Wexford Youths August 12th 2011

 The usual stroll up to the stadium for the 19:45 kick off on a cloudy Friday afternoon in mid-August wasnt as bad knowing that Cork were playing well. Our opponents that night were Wexford Youths, a side that have struggled badly this season with all their points this season coming on their travels. So I wasn't sure what to expect that night in terms of scoreline or performance. Wexford had beaten Limerick already this season which was no mean feat considering the force Limerick are becoming this season. I meet up with a friend for this game so this game was going to be enjoyed no matter what the result, as long 

 as it was a win for Cork of course.
The game started as a good tempo from Cork, who were obviously going for victory to aid their promotion push. It took just eight minutes for the game's first goal to arrive and it came from Graham Cummins, top socrer for City last season and looking odds-on again this season. Cummins had been attracting interest from Britain this summer also. Us home fans were delighted of course with the goal. Wexford continued to push deeper into their own half after ward as Cork dominated. When half time came it was a surprise to see the scoreline at just 1-0 because

 Cork really did stamp a lesson to Wexford. The 2nd half saw a more adventerous Wexford to be honest.  They surprised Cork and attacked forcing some corners and shots that went over. Just after the hour, disaster as Danny Furlong scored for Wexford. Barely a murmour from the stadium apart from the one or two Wexford fans in the main stand. The goal was deserved for Wexford by their 2nd half performance which without jumping to conclusions made you wonder how they are 2nd bottom of the 1st division.
The game was running away from Cork after that goal as chances came

 and went which at times was very frustrating from a fans point of view. To think seven days previously everything we touched went between the posts.
Lady luck was watching Cork though because with two minutes to go Wexford keeper Packie Holden bought down Gearoid Morissey. Vincent Escudé-Candau was successful against Limerick and he was successful against Wexford as he scored to make it 2-1 with barely enough time left. However the ups and downs of a promotion race bought one of those downs that night as Wexford levelled in stoppage

 time to the fury of the Cork fans, players and bench with Tommy Dunne particularly unimpressed.
However despite being a 2-2 draw in which Cork should really have been out of sight by half-time it was an entertaining game but that is scant consolation for two points definetly dropped.
The ride home that night wasn't one of joy let me tell you.

Cork City 3-1 Limerick August 8th 2011 League cup Semi-final

 League-cup semi-final fever didnt quiet grip the city as expected with a crowd of just 2000 turning up. The munster derby between these sides nowadays is much more intense with Limerick sending out a serious message of intent with their summer transfer signings of former Cork city stalwards Denis Behan and Joe Gamble to add to the quality they already had in the shapes of Paudie Quinn, Brian McCarthy and goalkeeper Barry Ryan. This had the makes of a good game which we were not disappointed.
The 4-1 win over Shelbourne saw Cork play poorly for the first twenty
minutes and that was the case once more in this game as Limerick hit the front with a goal on 13 minutes from Peter Hynes which went down well with the 20 or so Limerick fans in the away section.
For the second time in three days, Cork were behind early. That goal kicked Cork into gear and they began to create chances with some nice football being played in between. Any side would struggle to replicate the form they showed in the victory over Shelbourne but Cork did make a good stab at trying. Limerick came with a plan to strike early and keep Cork out and try and hit them on the counter. Limerick did force a few counters which were twarted by the rear guard defense and goalkeeping of McNulty. Just short of the half-hour though, Cork won a penalty. Davin O'Neill stepped up to convert past Ryan and level the scores at 1-1. Limerick though continued with their tactic while Cork seemed to be in a hurry to get in front before half-time.
The game in the 2nd half had chances but neither set of fans could celebrate a goal. As time went on both defenses became tired which explained the raft of attacking chances and personnel. Denis Behan on his first game against Cork always looked for scraps that he could feed off. Joe Gamble couldn't stamp his authority in midfield as he was closed down very quickly once in possession. Paudie Quinn looked dangerous up front and on the wings with some nice touches and almost sent Behan through.
For Cork the usual sight of Cummins and central defender tangling was all to see once more. The central defender in question here was the towering Brian McCarthy who was lucky to stay on the pitch when he bought down Graham Cummins one-on-one.
Extra-time was next and again both sides looking for that vital goal. After 104 minutes of play we had a penalty in front of the shed end. Responcibility was left to Vincent Escudé-Candau to dispatch past Ryan and put Cork 2-1 up with the 2nd half of extra-time to play.
Limerick simply had to attack and they duely did with some close run shots that missed McNulty's goal by centemeters. Then after 118 minutes of play Limerick forced a corner which was cleared to Grahm Cummins, he ran towards goal one-on-one with Ryan and powerfully struck the ball past the Clareman to end the game at 3-1 to Cork. That secured Cork's path to the League cup final to the delight of the fans that turned up on the night.

Cork City 4-1 Shelbourne August 5th 2011

 The top two in the 1st Division clashed at Turners' Cross with Cork taking on a strong Shelbourne side. Shelbourne, coached by former Cork boss Alan Matthews were unbeaten away from home until this game. Cork were also defending an unbeaten home record this season.
The kick-off time was the usual 19:45 and as per usual I turned up early for the game to catch the atmosphere building.
By kick-off the shed was rocking. We were welcoming are long time rivals from Dublin. This fixture had a history of high intense games especially when the two clubs were battling for League of Ireland titles,

 now it was a battle for the 1st division title. This game was going to be epic for someone!
The game started with an unfamiliar sight of the away side stamping their authority on the game. Shelbourne were on top for the opening minutes and it showed when David Cassidy placed expertly past Mark McNulty to put Shelbourne 1-0 up right in front of the Shed.
Shelbourne continued to dominate for the opening twenty minutes until Cork finally rose out of their shell and attacked the league leaders. 

 Cork leveled the game on the half-hour when Graham Cummins headed past Dean Delaney to the delight of the home support. The game was poised to be a classic, which it duly turned into just shy of half-time when Davin O'Neill made it 2-1.
Shelbourne were shell-shocked with Cork's resurgence. That resurgence was shown again in the 2nd half despite no goals to show for it. The next goal did arrive on 78 minutes with the shed singing as O'Neill got his 2nd goal of the evening with a tap-in. Cork were well and truely on top and Shelbourne's unbeaten away record was ebbing

 away from them.
Three minutes after O'Neill made it 3-1, loan-signing Daryl Horgan managed the squeeze in a shot past the crowd of players in the six yard box and made it 4-1 to the delight of the 3500 strong crowd.
For the last nine minutes of the game Cork played possession football, looking to expolit any more gaps that would appear in the shacky Shelbourne defense. Of all the games I have seen Cork play, they were playing with superb confidance that night with every player getting a touch of the ball. To think that Shelbourne were the dominant side in the

 opening twenty minutes was mind boggling.
The final whistle from referee, Pádraig Sutton sounded and Cork were 4-1 winners on the night and closed the gap between the two sides to seven points.
Without doubt it was the performance of the season from Cork and ahead of the League cup semi-final against Limerick three days later it was perfect preparation.

Longford Town 1-3 Cork City July 23rd 2011

 My first game back home with my beloved Cork City was an away trip up to the midlands to face Longford Town. Longford had a good squad that featured former Sheffield United winger Keith Gillespie and former "Football's Next star" contestant Craig Walsh but our side also featured some stars with Graham Cummins being top scorer once again, Derek O'Brien out on the wing with Daryl Horgan, on loan from Sligo Rovers parading the opposite flank.

A long trip in time for the 19:00 kick-off in Flancare Park. A good number of Cork fans made the journey with around 50 in total. The home side started well enough forcing a few shot but Cork settled into their rythm and were first to score on sixteen minutes with Daryl Horgan heading in from a Gearoid Morrisey corner. Things were playing out nicely until Cork gave away a penalty when Don Cowan was bought down in the penalty area by Greg O'Halloran. The resulting spot-kick was scored, just about by Mark Salmon.

In the second half both sides chased the game with the home side looking to push on from that penalty. It was Cork though who scored next when Daryl Horgan, who appeared off-side slotted past the keeper for 2-1 to the delight of us travelling fans.

Gearoid Morrisey wrapped up a good nights' work with a third goal on 72 minutes that killed off the Longford tempo of getting an equiliser. Three points in the race for promotion and Shelbourne at home were next up.