Player ratings: St. Patrick's Athletic 1 - 0 Cork City

Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy was in Richmond Park on Friday evening to take in the League of Ireland opener between St Patrick's Athletic and Cork City.

Could any of the Saints or Rebel Army catch the national team manager's eye? Here's how the two sides rated according to extratime.ie.

St. Patrick’s Athletic

Brendan Clarke: 7

Not called on to do much in the second half but a pair of fine saves in the opening 45 minutes – first to deny James Tilley and then a top-class reaction save to keep out Garry Buckley – earned his side three points.

Kevin Toner: 6

Booked for a particularly clumsy tackle on Conor McCormack in the second half but was part of a rearguard that kept the Cork front three relatively quiet.

Lee Desmond: 7

The most impressive operator in the Pats backline, he read the play well and mopped up when needed in defence.

David Webster: 6



Showed well on his Saints debut on the right-hand side of a back three and looked comfortable in possession, distributing well and made some telling tackles.

Simon Madden: 7

Given license to attack down the right and got himself into a number of good positions but his crossing let him down at times, though one shot aimed at the top corner wasn’t far from landing.

Jamie Lennon: 7

Showed some nice touches in a midfield battle the Saints more or less won, but played himself into trouble with some heavier touches that will surely recede with more gametime.

Conor Clifford: 8



Booked early on for a reckless challenge that left Kevin O’Connor writhing on the ground but was otherwise solid in the centre, and it was his deft touch that drew the foul for the penalty.

Rhys McCabe: 7

The eye-catching Scot caused problems throughout with his set-piece delivery, but the defensive side of his game is a little less certain as he was sometimes shaken off too easily on the break.

Ian Bermingham: 6

The captain played a little more conservatively wide on the left than Madden on the opposite side, but was always a threat from set-pieces and his passing was neat and tidy.

Chris Forrester: 6

Lasted 70 minutes on his return to League of Ireland football and showed some nice touches, including a few well-won headers, but would have liked to have more time with the ball at his feet.

Mikey Drennan: 7

Found himself isolated up front for much of the game with Forrester dropping deep in search of the ball, but occupied the Cork centre-halves with probing runs and did the business from 12 yards when called upon.

Subs:

Gary Shaw: 6

Brought on to make the ball stick up front for the Saints and, while that didn’t materialise, he put in some hugely important challenges, one in particular on Sheppard in injury time ending a siege.

Brandon Miele, Cian Coleman: N/A

 

CORK CITY

Mark McNulty: 6

Nothing the goalkeeper could do about Drennan’s goal and he had little else to do other than catch crosses and watch the ball flash across goal.

Conor McCarthy: 7

The right-back put in some excellent performances to establish himself last season and has developed into a solid defender and a dangerous attacker with barrelling runs forward. One terrific diving block from Bermingham’s volley stands out.

Dan Casey: 6

Dealt relatively comfortably with everything Pats sent into the box and posed a danger when looking to get on the end of set-pieces.

Sean McLoughlin: 5

The normally sure-footed centre-half was caught out by Clifford’s quick feet for the penalty and dived in to win a ball he was never likely to take cleanly.

Shane Griffin: 5

Put in some dangerous free kicks early on but didn’t have the influence in the attacking sense he would have liked to, and much of Pats’ best attacking work came through Madden on his flank.

Conor McCormack: 5

The late switch that saw Gearóid Morrissey sit the game out wasn’t ideal and, though the Carlingford man put himself about as usual, the City midfield didn’t have their usual influence on the game.

Kevin O’Connor: 5

A second debut for the Preston loanee came about at short notice when Morrissey pulled up before kick-off, and he wasn’t helped by a heavy early challenge from Clifford, but showed what a threat he is from dead balls.

Garry Buckley: 6

Will wonder how he didn’t give his side the lead in the first half when he got his head to Daire O’Connor’s cross – seemed to do everything right but couldn’t force the ball past Clarke.

Daire O’Connor: 8

Arguably the best player on the pitch showed great skill and balance on the wing, put in that super cross Buckley should have converted, but lacked composure when the chance fell his way late on.

James Tilley: 5

The Brighton loanee had two early chances to give City the lead, first heading what looked a simple chance from ten yards wide, before his flick-on was well-saved by Clarke. Pushed off the ball a little easily at times and was the first to be replaced.

Karl Sheppard: 6

Captain for the night Sheppard led from the front with tireless work but he’s not the target man Cummins is and it’s no surprise he had a bigger influence when the latter was introduced for Tilley.

Subs:

Graham Cummins: 6

Provided the platform for Cork to kick on in the final half hour and occupied a Saints back three who, until then, had had an easy ride of it, but couldn’t get himself in the position to make an impact in front of goal.

Liam Nash: 5

The new signing from Gillingham showed some nice movement in his time on the pitch but had little to work with as City grew desperate. 

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