Cork City 3:2 Athlone Town: First Division Match Result

Match report

Cork City beat Athlone Town 3-2 in the First Division's 26th round of matches on Sunday. The result keeps the hosts top of the table with 68 points from 30 games.

R. Keating opened the scoring in the third minute and added a second just past the half-hour mark. H. Mpongo levelled things for Athlone Town before P. Grogan restored Cork's advantage with two strikes in the second half. To be fair, the match was decided in those brief windows when the ball found the net.

J. Farnham came on for Cork in the 46th minute, followed by C. Lyons at 53 minutes. Athlone Town brought on W. Smith for J. Kehir at 69 minutes, and S. Brennan replaced himself at 75 minutes — a substitution that drew a booking. By then the game had settled into its rhythm.

Cork City dominated possession at 71 per cent and created more chances, landing 4 shots on target compared to Athlone Town's 6. The visitors tried to work through the middle but found no answer to the home defence. Three shots went wide for Cork while six missed the mark for the away side.

The five yellow cards scattered through the second half showed the intensity, with S. Brennan and J. Kehir both cautioned in the 69th minute. S. Maguire picked up the last booking in the 86th minute.

Cork City's victory extends their lead at the summit to 28 points over seventh-placed Athlone Town. The hosts have won 21 of their 30 games and cannot afford another slip if they want to maintain their position.

Prepared from match data

Key numbers

Possession, % 29.00 – 71

Shots on target 4 – 6

Shots off target 3 – 6

Attacks 89 – 74

⚽ 3' R. Keating — Goal ⚽ 14' H. Mpongo — Goal ⚽ 32' R. Keating — Goal ⚽ 43' P. Grogan — Goal ⇄ 46' J. Farnham — Substitution 🟨 51' Yellow card ⇄ 53' C. Lyons — Substitution ⚽ 59' P. Grogan — Goal 🟨 65' S. Brennan — Yellow card 🟨 69' J. Kehir — Yellow card ⇄ 69' W. Smith — Substitution ⇄ 75' S. Brennan — Substitution 🟨 86' S. Maguire — Yellow card

Match events

3' 1:0 Cork City Goal R. Keating
14' 2:0 Cork City Goal H. Mpongo
32' 3:0 Cork City Goal R. Keating
43' 3:1 Athlone Town Goal P. Grogan
46' 3:1 Athlone Town Substitution J. Farnham off: K. O'Connor
51' 3:1 Cork City Yellow card
53' 3:1 Cork City Substitution C. Lyons off: H. Nevin
59' 3:2 Athlone Town Goal P. Grogan
65' 3:2 Athlone Town Yellow card S. Brennan
69' 3:2 Athlone Town Yellow card J. Kehir
69' 3:2 Athlone Town Substitution W. Smith off: P. Ferry
75' 3:2 Athlone Town Substitution S. Brennan off: C. Tollett
86' 3:2 Cork City Yellow card S. Maguire

Statistics

29.00 Possession, % 71

4 Shots on target 6

3 Shots off target 6

89 Attacks 74

9 Corners 8

12 Free kicks 15

2 Offsides 0

2 Yellow cards 2

0 Red cards 0

5 Goal kicks 8

15 Throw-ins 21

All statistics

1 Blocked shots 6

0.50 Shot accuracy 0.33

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