A 1-0 victory continued an excellent start to the season for Pat Devlin and his side as they secured top spot in the Airtricity League First Division. It was a disappointing result for Cork after a solid first half with a fantastic chance to be ahead at the break.

Cabinteely is now alone at the top of the table after playing out a 1-0 win hosting Cork City, becoming the only first division side with a 100% record. Despite starting the game as the underdog, the South Dublin club managed to grab all three points against one of the strongest candidates to promotion.

The beauty of the sunset coming down in Blackrock didn’t match the slow-paced play during the first twenty minutes. The Rebel Army was demonstrating some degree of patience by controlling the cadence and ball possession, as Cabinteely was struggling to create attacking moves.

The best opportunity of the first half fell to Cork City with 22 minutes on the clock as Cian Bargary headed a perfect cross coming in from a corner on the left, with Dean Casey clearing it over the line.

Colin Healy's troops' had scant opportunity to score as the hosts became increasingly more comfortable playing out from the back. Cabinteely reset the system in the changing rooms pushing forward early in the second half, and it only took ten minutes for the new strategy to deliver results.

Cork got caught sleeping on the right side as Keith Dalton benefited from an excellent position with a shot deflected off George Heaven putting the ball past the goalkeeper. The Cabo boys came back with a lot of energy in their play forcing the visitors to hitting long balls.

Cork’s best chance of getting the equaliser arrived through a long shot coming back off the crossbar thirty minutes from time. They lacked creativity and offensive plays were too reliant on Dylan McGlade crosses from free kicks sending the ball into the box looking for something that never came.

Cabinteely came with a last effort looking for a second goal close to the full time. While the last chance belonged to Cork, the Rebels were incapable of smashing it into the back of the net, as Adam Hayden killed it with the chest. Cork played with too much patience and Cabinteely waited and took advantage. Cork’s journey back to the Premier Division will be tougher that it may have been expected.