Cork City 2-1 Bohemians: Keating Winner Completes Comeback at Turners Cross
Cork City turn it around against Bohemians to earn their first victory back in the Premier Division thanks to Ruairi Keating’s winner. Thanks to kbdphotos.com for the images of the game.
Eighteen months since they last tasted a home victory in the Premier Division, Cork City fans left Turners Cross with a spring in their step on Friday night, buoyed by a massive three points and an impressive display against Bohemians.
They may have feared the worst when the Dubliners took a fortunate lead in the first half, but a resilient response and two well-worked goals kept any flashbacks to the dreary 2023 relegation season at bay.
In fact, it was the Bohs fans who would have ended Friday night with a sense of déjà vu and a touch of 2023 PTSD. Ruairi Keating’s late winner must have left a familiarly bitter taste in Bohemian mouths (nothing to do with the Beamish they will have sampled in their foray outside of the Guinness lands), as haunting memories of their previous trip to Leeside will have come flooding back.
Then, in the summer of 2023, Bohs were still celebrating a late equaliser when Cork City went straight up the other end and made it 2-1, as the feelings of deflation and elation transitioned from one side of the ground to the other as quickly as the ball did. This time, the emotional rollercoaster was not as hectic but, as is its nature, arrived back in the same place as last time—the destination being Cork City 2 Bohemians 1.
Last time Bohemians came to Turner's Cross, they thought they'd rescued a point in the 87th minute…
— Cork City FC (@CorkCityFC) February 24, 2025
…then this happened while their fans were still celebrating 👀#CCFC84 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/1EgcUVCUqy
Kick Off
In front of 5,034 spectators at the Cross, the game started fairly evenly, with Bohs maintaining the larger share of possession. Tim Clancy’s men, meanwhile, looked a threat on the counterattack—constantly looking for Irish international Sean Maguire as the out-ball in behind the opposition back line. It was the home side who came closest to scoring in the early exchanges, as Sean Murray rattled the bar from the edge of the box in the 16th minute.
Five minutes later, however, the visitors took the lead when captain Keith Buckley’s speculative shot from distance took a fortuitous deflection and looped into Tein Troost’s net. Alan Reynolds, Bohs boss, could only celebrate from the stands, seeing as he was serving a suspension for his red card attained in Derry last week, with his assistant, former City player Stephen O’Donnell, sharing the touchline with Tim Clancy instead.
The Leesiders responded valiantly to the setback, although their determined push for an equaliser sometimes left space for Bohemians to exploit on the counter. This ignited the most open period of the game and nearly heralded a two-goal lead for the team in red and black. Ross Tierney, the brightest spark in the Bohs side, got on the end of a fast-paced move from back to front and tried to bend the ball past Tein Troost from ‘Thierry Henry Territory’. His shot was stopped by the Dutch keeper, who concluded a remarkable double save by blocking the rebound from close range.
This proved a key turning point in the match as, shortly after, Cork City were level. Sean Maguire latched onto a pin-point cross from midfielder Rio Shipston, who delivered it on a plate for the City frontman to head home. Maguire, a hero of the John Caulfield era and the 2017 league and cup double season, ran to celebrate in front of the disgruntled Bohs fans, while at the opposite end of the ground, the Shed End devolved into a swarm of rotating limbs.
The cross 🎯
— Cork City FC (@CorkCityFC) March 1, 2025
The header 🤩
The celebration 🤫
So much to love about this goal from Seani Maguire 🤌🏼#CCFC84 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/pcgQMos9m8
The Second Half
With the teams level at the break, the second half became a considerably tighter affair as neither side appeared to take too many risks. Bohemians’ striker of Bournemouth and Sheffield United fame, Lys ‘The Mousse’ Mousset, was the first man to be hauled off for the away side after an inspiring display. Inspiring, that is, for every other player on the pitch—and some people in the stands—who will now believe that they too could play in the Premier League.
While Bohs dominated the early stages of the second half, it was Cork City who finished the stronger. They grew into the game, taking the initiative in the final quarter of the match, aided by the introduction of substitutes Alex Nolan, Kitt Nelson and Harvey Skieters, who all added a useful quality and revitalising energy to the team.
Ruairi Keating, meanwhile, became much more involved in the play than he had been in the opening ’45 and had a big opportunity to put his team in front after 65 minutes when he took the ball down nicely in the area but couldn’t keep his shot below the crossbar. He also had a reasonable penalty claim waved away by the referee, unmoved by the baying Shed End. Keating’s moment, however, was soon to come.
As the clock ticked into the 83rd minute, Bohs were dispossessed on the edge of the Cork City penalty area, and the ball was quickly fed into Maguire, who played a curling first-time pass out wide to match Keating’s run. Picking it up 40 or so yards from goal, the City #9 advanced upfield before cutting inside from the left flank, winding past the Bohs defence and firing into the net. Cue bedlam in the Shed as Keating ran towards a mass of flailing bodies, arms outstretched, having secured what would prove to be a massive three points for the Corkmen.
That matchwinning moment! 🤩#CCFC84 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/PkAjdUJaYy
— Cork City FC (@CorkCityFC) February 28, 2025
What It Means:
It may have required a tense rear-guard action to see out the game for City, but Bohs failed to create any significant chances to give themselves a real chance at redemption. Their misery was compounded by being forced to finish the game with ten men when Robert Cornwall was shown a second yellow card for cynically following Harvey Skieters, who was too quick and too clever for the despairing center-back. When the final whistle finally blew, Turner’s Cross erupted in jubilant relief and immense satisfaction at a hugely encouraging victory.
Suddenly, with a commendable four points from their opening two matches, Cork City sit 5th in the table despite having played one game fewer than everyone else besides Shamrock Rovers. That is down to the postponement of the two teams’ meeting last Sunday due to what Rovers are calling a waterlogged pitch and what the wicked whispers on Leeside are calling a cosy Dublin conspiracy caused by the sheer terror of facing a resurgent Rebel Army.
In any case, this newly promoted City side, who were heavily tipped by many observers for an immediate return to the First Division, now find themselves looking up rather than down the table ahead of winnable fixtures against Waterford and a winless Sligo within the next week. The victory against Bohs will instill plenty of confidence in the buildup to five days that could shape the complexion of Cork City’s season. Tim Clancy’s Rebel Army is on the march and, in Turner’s Cross, they have their fortress.
Teams:
HOME: T Troost; D Crowley, F Anderson, C Lyons, B Couto; G Bolger; R Shipston (A Nolan ’58), S Murray (K Nelson ’71); M Dijksteel (H Skieters ’82); R Keating, S Maguire. [4-4-2]
AWAY: J Talbot; S Grehan, R Cornwall, L Kavanagh, J Flores (J Mountney ’79); K Buckley (N Morahan ’79), D Devoy; D Rooney, J Clarke (C Parsons ’66), R Tierney (A McDonnell ’79); L Mousset (C Whelan ’59). [4-2-3-1]
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