Cork City took early command of the Premier Division table on Friday night by winning their second game on the bounce.
John Caulfield’s side were looking to maintain the run of form that had seen them claim the President’s Cup and battle to a 3-2 victory over St. Patrick’s Athletic last week, but went into a Munster derby against a Waterford outfit buoyed by a 2-1 win against Derry City in their season opener last Friday.
In the end, City’s quality shone through at Turner’s Cross, as goals from midfielders Gearoid Morrissey and Garry Buckley were enough to give the defending champions a 2-0 victory.
St. Patrick’s Athletic earned their first win of the season, as an early double was enough to see off the challenge of Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds. Goals from Conan Byrne and Christy Fagan within the first 15 minutes set the visitors up for victory, with Gary McCabe’s effort to halve the deficit on 20 minutes proving to be little more than a consolation.
At the Showgrounds, Sligo Rovers also earned their first points of the season with a 2-1 victory over Derry City. New signings Adam Morgan and Alistair Roy broke their respective ducks late on to give the Bit o’ Red a strong lead going into the last few minutes, and that two-goal cushion proved to be vital when Ronan Curtis struck in the dying moments to pull one back for the away side.
The supposed tie of the night, however, was at Tallaght where Shamrock Rovers entertained title rivals Dundalk. Goals were found to be in short supply, however, and an anticlimactic 0-0 draw leaves the Lilywhites still searching for their first goal of the league season, and both sides still without a win.
Premier Division Results:
Cork City 2-0 Waterford FC
Bray Wanderers 1-2 St. Patrick’s Athletic
Sligo Rovers 2-1 Derry City
Shamrock Rovers 0-0 Dundalk
In the first division, meanwhile, while there was plenty to discuss from the matches that were played, one of the biggest talking points was from a match that didn’t go ahead. Drogheda United’s clash with Finn Harps was called off at the last minute as the floodlights were not to the referee’s satisfaction. That match will now be payed at a later date but it is a farcical way to begin the new campaign.
At Eamonn Deacy Park, Galway United made a storming start to the new season with a thumping 4-1 victory over Athlone Town. New signing Danny Furlong made the perfect start to his return to the League of Ireland by netting a hat-trick, with Ronan Manning scoring the other. Felix Perez scored for the visitors late on by to that could barely be even called a consolation.
An early goal from Sean Hurley was enough to give Wexford a 1-0 victory against Cabinteely at Stradbrook, while UCD came from a goal down (by James English) to record a 2-1 victory over Shelbourne at UCD Bowl – Greg Sloggett and Timmy Molloy scoring the goals in the home side’s turnaround.
First Division Results:
Cabinteely 0-1 Wexford
Drogheda United P-P Finn Harps
Galway United 4-1 Athlone Town
UCD 2-1 Shelbourne
Saturday’s matches see Limerick take on Bohemians at Markets Field in the Premier Division, while Cobh Ramblers travel to Longford Town in the First Division.
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