Levadia Tallin 0-2 Cork City

Cork City took a major step towards the second qualifying round of the Europa League with an impressive 2-0 away win to Levadia Tallinn, handing their opponents their first defeat since October.

Garry Buckley’s low drive from a free-kick turned the tie in the Rebel Army’s favour, compiling Levadia’s misery having lost central defender Tabi Manga moments earlier, his trip of a flying Maguire earning him a second yellow and his marching orders.

The visitors started brightly, with Greg Bolger’s early shot from deep feeling out Sergei Lempets before the netminder spilled Dooley’s shot, Buckley’s follow-up probably should have been finished but Lempets was up quick to smother.

The home ‘keeper was being kept busy; Maguire’s looping header touched over by the 30-year-old before he forced Manga into the crucial second caution following a direct run.

The visitors felt that they should have had a penalty ten minutes later, as Ryan Delaney went down from a tackle from behind by Maksim Podholjuzin, but Danish referee Jørgen Burchardt was unsympathetic to their claims.

For all their good work, the visitors probably should have conceded a late equaliser, as a nice build-up move saw Nikita Andreev flick the ball into the path of Josip Krznarić, whose low drive was brilliantly parried onto the crossbar by Mark McNulty.

The hosts were left to pay for that miss, as sub Steven Beattie settled the game, and most likely the tie, crowning off Shane Griffin’s penetrating run by hammering the ball past a hapless Lempets and into the top left-hand corner for a crucial second away goal.

FC Levadia Tallinn: S Lempets; I Dudarev, T Manga, M Podholijuzin, M Gando; J Krznarić, M Roosnupp (A Artjunin 45+1); P Marin (N Andreev 72), J Morelli, E Kobzar (I Teever 88); R Hunt.

Cork City: M McNulty; J Keohane, C McCormack, R Delaney, K O’Connor; G Bolger, G Buckley (A Campion 74), G Morrissey; K Sheppard (S Beattie 67), S Maguire, S Dooley (S Griffin 80).

Referee: J Burchardt (DEN).