Goals from Sean Maguire, Greg Bolger and Garry Buckley were enough to see Cork City secure a vital 3-0 victory over Shamrock Rovers at Turner's Cross, reducing Dundalk's lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division to seven points.

Ireland U21 international Maguire fired home a left-footed effort early in the game before Rovers came back into the contest and pushed for the all-important equaliser.

They lacked the crucial bite up front though, and a late penalty kick from Bolger and a long-distance effort from Buckley in added time settled the contest once and for all in the final minutes.

The Leesiders were unchanged from the clubs' Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup encounter the previous week but suspension and illness forced the visitors into three changes.

Patrick Cregg, Sean Boyd and Sean McCabe all dropped out of Stephen Bradley's selection, with Shane Hanney, James Doona and Dean Clarke all getting a starting berth.

With Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane and Olympian Rob Heffernan both watching on from the stands, City made a strong start with Maguire lashing an early free kick into the Rovers wall with just two minutes gone.

Just as it had done last Friday night in Tallaght, the initial breakthrough came early.

A long ball out of defence from Kenny Browne was initially gathered by Sean Heaney; however, the defender slipped at the wrong moment and allowed Maguire to nab possession, race away from Robert Cornwall and fire a low shot to the back of Barry Murphy's net with the help of a deflection off the far post.

Rovers sat deeper, compared to last week, but still attacked with pace and accuracy on a number of occasions - before being cut out by the ever-alert pairing of Alan Bennett and Browne.

Buckley tried an effort from the edge of the Rovers box on 26 minutes - only to watch his final effort fly over Murphy's bar - before another opportunity fell to Maguire.

The move started with Steven Beattie down the right, the full back getting Karl Sheppard involved before the latter's cross saw their striking colleague get a shot away. However, Murphy had it well covered.

The in-form front man had one final chance before the break.

A free kick from Kevin O'Connor was initially cleared on 42 minutes but Bolger's ball back inside saw Buckley pick up possession in the box. He passed back to O'Connor who had appeared on the left wing and his stinging cross missed the incoming Maguire by inches at the far post.

The former Lilywhite blazed a hooked shot high into the stand early on in the second half, from another Bolger free kick, before a whipped cross with pace from Sheppard was neatly gathered by Murphy three minutes later.

Rovers had to wait until the 54th minute before they registered their first attempt on goal. Simon Madden's cross inside from the right couldn't find Dean Clarke's head in the middle of the box though, and the hosts were able to clear.

The crowd of 2,475 thought Sheppard had added a second for Cork when he planted the ball in the back of Murphy's net from Bolger's free kick just after the hour mark. However, the assistant referee's flag ruled the goal out for offside.

Clarke and Sheppard then traded shots, but it was the home side that pushed for the next score as the game ticked into the final 20 minutes.

Maguire had a neat flick deflected out for a corner with 15 minutes remaining, before Stephen Dooley forced another good block from Murphy two minutes later.

The Hoops were much better organised than during the 5-0 Cup loss but lacked the cutting edge to make a difference and piled numbers behind the ball when their opponents had possession.

That tactic saw them keep the deficit to the minimum for most of the game, though they did create half chances late on when Gary Shaw had a neat header saved by Mark McNulty and Killian Brennan then tried - and failed - to chip the veteran keeper from 25 yards out.

The goals that sealed the win came late on. Dooley raced into the box and was fouled by Shane Hanney on 88 minutes. Referee David McKeon pointed to the spot and with usual penalty taker Maguire off the pitch, it was Bolger that placed the ball and lashed it beyond Murphy.

With victory assured, it was left to Buckley to cap the winning performance with a stunning strike into the top corner of the Rovers goal deep in added time, following another mazy run from O'Connor, much to the delight of the nearby Shed.

Cork City FC: Mark McNulty; Steven Beattie, Alan Bennett, Kenny Browne, Kevin O'Connor; Greg Bolger; Karl Sheppard (Danny Morrissey '84), Gearóid Morrissey, Garry Buckley, Stephen Dooley (Chiedozie Ogbene '90); Sean Maguire (Mark O'Sullivan '84).

Substitutes: Colin Healy, Gavan Holohan, Matthew Connor, Michael McSweeney.

Shamrock Rovers: Barry Murphy; Shane Hanney, Robert Cornwall, Sean Heaney, Trevor Clarke; David Webster, Stephen McPhail; Simon Madden (Gary Shaw '78), James Doona (Killian Brennan '65), Dean Clarke; Aaron Dobbs.

Substitutes: Michael Quinn, Conor Gleeson, Jamie Aherne, Aaron Bolger.

Referee: David McKeon.