ACTION
City claim creditable draw
July 4, 2004
NEC Nijmegen 0-0 Cork City
Cork City go into next weekend’s Intertoto Cup second round second leg clash with NEC Nijmegen with a real shout of becoming the first Irish club to successfully negotiate two rounds of a European competition after a hugely creditable scoreless draw in Holland on Saturday evening.
Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of a night in which the visitors defended resolutely throughout was the failure to net an away goal that would have made their passage a good deal more straightforward.
But that is not to say that Pat Dolan’s side were content to sit back and soak up the pressure – they attacked powerfully on occasion and came close to scoring when Billy Woods, a late inclusion at the expense of injury victim John O’Flynn, saw his first half header come back off the NEC crossbar.
The absence of O’Flynn saw Kevin Doyle stationed alongside Neale Fenn in attack, with the versatile Woods coming in on the right side of midfield.
The home side were also without their key attackers – Youssouf Hersi returned to Ajax when his loan spell ended, and Polish international Andrzej Niedzielan is still recovering from an abdominal muscle operation.
In their stead, the muscular figure of Frank Demouge was handed the main striker’s role, but he was marshalled expertly by a central defensive partnership of skipper Dan Murray and Alan Bennett.
And whenever they were breached, the last line of defence, excellent goalkeeper Michael Devine, was on hand to keep out the threat, with one superb save from substitute Romano Denneboom near the finish keeping Cork on terms.
The Cork side also had their degree of luck, with home defender Rob Wielaert saw his 76th minute header smack off the bar much like Woods’s effort had done in the first.
But Cork, despite being under increasing pressure as the second half wore on, held firm for a draw that leaves them well placed to bombard the Dutchmen in front of a packed Turners Cross next Sunday afternoon.
NEC Nijmegen: Gentenaar, Wielaert, Wisgerhof (Denneboom, 55), Ebbinge, Simr, Valencia, van der Doelen, Tininho, Heije, Boutahar, Demouge.
Cork City: Devine, Lordan, Murphy, D. Murray, Bennett, O’Brien, O’Callaghan, Woods (Gamble, 83), Kearney, Doyle, Fenn.
Referee: D. Ledentu (France).
Today's other Into Europe headlines:
INTO EUROPE -
Murray eyes third round
PREMIER DIVISION -
Two Shels games rearranged
INTO EUROPE -
Longford remain hopeful on Flancare
Other soccer news:
PREMIER DIVISION -
Murphy happy to commit to City
ACROSS THE WATER -
McPhail sets sights on promotion
OFF THE FIELD -
Magee gaffe makes it into top 50
PREMIER DIVISION -
Hutton receives Dolan praise
PREMIER DIVISION -
Drew makes Buckley pledge
PREMIER DIVISION -
Drogheda-Cork clash rescheduled
PREMIER DIVISION -
Uefa clashes necessitate fixture reshuffle
FIRST DIVISION -
Schoolboys end Kildare link
FIRST DIVISION -
Zayed aiming for top form
PREMIER DIVISION -
Refs issued with card instructions
Thirty-two sides gear up for Cup draw
FIRST DIVISION -
ACTION: Bray hit the top
FIRST DIVISION -
ACTION: Four in a row for Dundalk
FIRST DIVISION -
ACTION: Feeney suffers debut heartbreak
FIRST DIVISION -
ACTION: More woes for Lims
FIRST DIVISION -
ACTION: Tribesmen hang on for point
PREMIER DIVISION -
ACTION: Morrison sends Bohs into second spot
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