Runaway leaders Shamrock Rovers inflict more damage on Cork City

Irish Examiner

20-06-2025

SHAMROCK ROVERS 4 (Michael Noonan 6, 29, Pico Lopes 26, Rory Gaffney 49)
CORK CITY 1 (Alex Nolan 69)
Orange was the appropriate colour donned by Cork City as despite the sunniest day of the year they felt a relegation gale warning.
Their survival prospects won't be defined by another humbling from runaway leaders but the manner of this meek surrender, a week after Bohemians schooled them at home, will cause alarm.
A bright start for the visitors was soon punctuated by 16-year-old Michael Noonan being allowed to slalom into the box and fire the opener for Shamrock Rovers beneath Tein Troost.
Another pair of goals were conceded to Pico Lopes and Noonan merely over two minutes apart, leaving the game effectively over as a contest by the half hour mark.
Rory Gaffney completed the rout four minutes after the restart before City substitute Alex Nolan bundled home a consolation.
If that coming with 21 minutes remaining might have signalled a comeback, then the respective positions at the summit and foot of the table injected reality into the assumption.
Rovers, resting several mainstays including Jack Byrne, Graham Burke and Matt Healy for Monday's derby against Bohemians, were always in cruise control. There was never any inkling of the 4-4 draw at Tallaght from City's last Premier Division campaign.
City sit where they never were during that relegation season of two years ago, rock bottom, and the new management of Ger Nash and David Meyler will circle back-to-back home games against Drogheda United on Monday and St Patrick's Athletic four days later as pivotal.
Eight-placed Waterford extending their buffer to 13 points reduces further the hopes of avoiding the relegation playoff but the pressing challenge as the games remaining dissolve is avoiding the automatic drop.
City have lost over half their 20 matches with all Nash having to show from his four games to date a draw at home to Shelbourne.
Holding the champions raised talk of a revival yet it can be perceived as a false dawn, for the traditional managerial bounce hasn't materialised.
His decision to cull captain Charlie Lyons from the starting line-up spoke of decisiveness from his early takeaways but the central defensive duo in his place were given the runaround by rampant Rovers. Lyons was introduced at the break, along with another experienced campaigner, Seán Murray, in a bid to stem the bleeding.
Those calls followed an impromptu discussion between Nash and his recently appointed assistant after being subjected to another sobering 45 minutes.
Djanairo Daniels looked to have set the tone with a shove on Danny Mandroiu within moments of kick-off followed by a shot wide but the rest of the half would be spent predominantly inside City's half.
Their livewire Cathal O'Sullivan was impeded from playing out of it in the passage of play leading up the opener.
Once his pass inside was nicked off the toe of Kitt Nelson, two passes later and O'Sullivan was raiding into the box.
He chopped beyond both City's centre-backs, Darragh Crowley and Freddie Anderson, before tucking a soft shot beneath an unusually poor Troost.
Malik Dijksteel did test Ed McGinty and Evan McLaughlin fired over but two quickfire goals made it 3-0.
O'Sullivan's clumsy 26th minute tackle on Trevor Clarke incurred a booking and free-kick, which Dylan Watts curled in for Lopes to elude Crowley and power home with a thumping header.
City were dissected again from the next attack, Noonan slipping in between the two defenders to stroke home his second.
Further slack defending on the turnover cost the Rebels when Mandroiu sent Gaffney clear past the lost Josh Fitzpatrick. All the veteran striker had to do was roll the ball into the net.
It was keep-ball for Rovers thereafter with a spate of subs from both sides.
Whereas Milan Mbeng hooked a clear sight on goal wide, Nolan didn't miss with his, despite defender John O'Sullivan attempting to prevent it crossing the line.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: E McGinty; D Cleary, R Lopes, C O'Sullivan; D Grant (A McEneff 73), D Watts (C Barrett 52), J O'Sullivan, T Clarke (M Kovalevskis 46); R Gaffney, D Mandroiu (G O'Neill 52); M Noonan.
CORK CITY: T Tein; M Mbeng (H Nevin 61), F Anderson, D Crowley, J Fitzpatrick; E McLaughlin, G Bolger; C O'Sullivan (A Nolan 66), K Nelson (S Murray 46), M Dijksteel (C Lyons 46); D Daniels (S Maguire 61).
Referee: A O'Dowd (Dublin).
Attendance: 4,355.