A convincing win over a crowd of Dubs, their team clear again at the top of the league, and Pat Morley back where he belongs. Suffice to say, the fans looked happy as they streamed out of the Shed at Turner's Cross yesterday.

With good cause, too, for this City team shows every sign of being capable of going all the way in this championship race. Their superiority over Shamrock Rovers, a side that has looked pretty good of late, was scarcely captured by the scoreline.

Kelvin Flanagan, Ollie Cahill and Derek Coughlan got the goals that earned Cork their seventh successive league home win, but there could have been more for once again Tony O'Dowd was obliged to show why Rovers tempted him back to Dublin from Derry.

Rovers manager Mick Byrne not only gave thanks to his goalkeeper afterwards, but was also full of praise for centre-half Paul Whelan. "I thought Paul was excellent out there today," said Byrne, "particularly in the second half when we never really got going. Our midfield was non-existent and Cork were very good again. I don't think we can have any complaints."

His Cork counterpart, Dave Barry knows that the return game in Tolka Park next week, when he is likely to be without four of his regular first team defenders, may not be so straightforward, but yesterday he was pleased as much for individual displays by key players like John Caulfield, Derek Coughlan and Patsy Freyne as for the overall team display.

"John Caulfield," he said, "is like a new striker, a 21-year-old, and nobody is more delighted about it than me. And I was particularly happy for Derek out there today because he started very slowly but made up for it as the game went on."

The young centre-half, who is likely to be named this week in the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for the trip to Yugoslavia, capped what turned out to be a fine performance with a well-taken, close-range effort that wrapped up the game for the home team in the 75th minute.

Coughlan started nervously, though, and his discomfort in the opening 10 minutes played a large part in handing the advantage to the visitors.

Indeed, Rovers opened the scoring after seven minutes, Tony Cousins shirking off Coughlan's poor challenge to get on to the end of a long O'Dowd ball forward. Cousins made no mistake.

Rovers might have added to their lead just a few seconds later when Coughlan rashly opted to head Brian Morrisroe's ball low across his own goalmouth. Cousins, lurking close by, couldn't take advantage.

Their supremacy didn't last, though. Cousins, whose goal was his fourth in six games, remained a threat through the rest of the half, but City started to push the ball more effectively around midfield.

Initially they wasted some good possession by choosing to hit the final ball high into the Rovers box, but as the half progressed Ollie Cahill came into the game down the left while Caulfield, dropping out wide, linked up well with his midfield.

Caulfield's trickery created City's equaliser. The striker slipped the ball through Gino Brazil's legs, moved into the box and was brought down by Richie Purdy. Flanagan drove home his fifth penalty of the season, low to O'Dowd's right.

Eight minutes later the Rovers goalkeeper recovered brilliantly to deny Cahill from close range after a frantic goalmouth scramble, but when the pair came head-to-head again some 90 seconds before half-time, it was the winger who came out on top. Cahill sidefooted home from six yards after Caulfield's cross had taken a favourable deflection off Patsy Freyne.

There was no way back for Rovers thereafter, Coughlan adding City's third in a second half they dominated.

Cork City: Mooney; Daly, Coughlan, Hill, Barry-Murphy; Flanagan, Freyne, Herrick, Cahill; Caulfield, Hartigan. Subs: Morley for Hartigan (67 mins), Cotter for Freyne (78 mins).

Shamrock Rovers: O'Dowd; Whelan, Brazil, Palmer; O'Neill, Colwell, Purdy, Kenny, Tracey; Cousins, Morrisroe. Subs: Dunne and Woods for Brazil and Purdy (half-time), O'Meara for O'Neill (76 mins).

Referee: D O'Hanlon (Cork).