Having seen Cork City's Cup-winning run kick off with a bizarre own goal four seasons ago at Dalymount Park, Liam Murphy watched his side exit this year's Carlsberg-sponsored competition thanks to another yesterday.
Midfielder Alan Bennett was the culprit on this occasion and both managers duly offered their condolences to the 20-year-old. As might have been expected, though, they agreed about little else as they reflected on a game that lived up to its billing as the tie of this Cup second round.
As darkness descended, of course, the two managers' differences scarcely counted for anything. Come Thursday it is Rovers who will be in the draw for the last 16, not to mention the hunt for what would be an astonishing double, while Cork will turn their attention to a league campaign in which their remarkably young team is having to grow up fast.
"You need experience in a game like that," conceded Murphy afterwards and he confirmed Kelvin Flanagan, suspended yesterday, would be transfer listed at his own request today. "But then when you're name isn't on the Cup that's that and maybe the way they won here this afternoon is a promising omen for Rovers."
The manner in which they battled for their win did the visitors credit. Two weeks ago they lost a home game they dominated 3-1 to the southerners and this time, while they were again the better side, things were a good deal tighter for the best part of the contest.
Rovers, though, had hardly had time to settle into the superiority they enjoyed at stages before they found themselves in front. Bennett was the home side's anti-hero in the incident as the young midfielder edged out Rovers' Shane Robinson some 40 yards out only to hoist the ball over Michael Devine who could only get a faint touch as the misjudged back-pass soared into the net.
If there was an upside for the hosts it was that there was still 85 minutes left to play when the goal went in. However, for the next 15 minutes at least it was, if anything, the Dubliners who appeared the more likely to score as a determined defensive display and some impressive movement going forward gave them the upper hand in what quickly developed into a fast- moving and entertaining Cup tie.
Had Murphy's side managed what they did in Inchicore a couple of weeks ago, though, and simply taken the chances that came their way they might well have won again.
James Mulligan might well have done better than producing a weak shot straight at the Rovers goalkeeper, Tony O'Dowd, after Conor O'Grady had put him through in the first half and Ollie Cahill should certainly have punished a poor O'Dowd clearance in the second when his own first touch let him down badly.
Cork also had a penalty claim during the first period when Noel Hartigan tumbled under a challenge from Pat Scully but for the most part the Rovers defence, like the rest of their team, showed a hunger to progress to the next round that, by the end, deserved to be rewarded.
Derek Tracey, Robinson and Tony Grant all performed strongly for the Dubliners but perhaps the most noticeable change from the game two weeks ago was at right back where Costello (who avoided a booking in a game where the cards started to fly late on) coped much more comfortably with the challenge of Cahill.
Instrumental in the win a fortnight ago, Cahill went into decline this time out after his 31st-minute shot, engineered out of nothing with a neat piece of skill, flew inches wide of the left-hand post. An equaliser then, or at any point indeed, insisted Murphy, would have paved the way for a winner. It was never to materialise, though, as Rovers did what they had to, and a bit besides, to progress.
CORK CITY: Devine; Napier, O'Rourke, Coughlan, O'Rourke, Horgan (Caulfield, 83 mins); Carey (Buckley, 40 mins), Bennett, O'Grady, Cahill; Hartigan, Mulligan (O'Brien, 64 mins).
SHAMROCK ROVERS: O'Dowd; Costello, Palmer, Scully, Byrne; Robinson, Colwell, Tracey, Woods; T Grant (Deans, 88 mins), Francis (S Grant, 66 mins).
Referee: P McKeon (Dublin).
