Sligo Rovers 0 Cork City 2
Leaders Cork City once again showed their cutting edge to win another three points against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Saturday.
Despite being far from their free-flowing best against an energetic home side, City struck early and late to return to the top of the table, with their 17th league win of the season.
Boss John Caulfield said it was hard for them to maintain their excellent start, propelled by Kieran Sadlier's first minute opener.
“We’ll gladly take the three points. I say it every week, but every game is so tough. It wasn’t our greatest performance, but we scored two great goals, and we go home happy.
“You don’t come here and get an easy game. Sligo are a very good side, and they have been on a very good run. But we started on fire. Kieran Sadlier got a great goal and we had three more great opportunities inside the first 20-25 minutes to get a second goal, but we didn’t.
“Sligo came into it and, obviously as you’d expect from the home team, second half they put us under pressure.
“We looked a little bit fatigued from our third game in a week and we weren’t our usual selves.”
Sligo boss Gerard Lyttle felt his side deserved more.
“I thought we were the better team for 75 minutes. We played all the football.
“But that’s why Cork are league champions, and that is why they are top of the league. They get the job done, whatever it takes. And that’s the level we need to try to get to.”
SLIGO: Beeney, Sharkey, Callan-McFadden (Donelon 14), Mahon, McClean, Cawley, McCabe, Wixted, Roy (Kerrigan 76), McAleer (Cretaro 61), Morrison.
CORK: McNulty, Horgan (Griffin ht), Bennett, McLoughlin, Kane (Beattie 78), McCormack, Keohane, Buckley, Sadlier (McNamee 74), Sheppard, Cummins.
Referee: R Rogers.
