Referee John McDermott's decision not to send off Cork goalkeeper, Michael Devine, for conceding a penalty after 74 minutes was the main talking point at Turner's Cross yesterday.

Devine came racing off his goal-line when Longford centre forward Eric Lavine broke clear of the defence onto a pass from centre back Eric Smith. Lavine flicked the ball to one side of the goalkeeper before he was knocked to the ground and although the referee awarded a penalty he did not show Devine the red card.

Devine was the first defender and Lavine looked certain to score had he been able to retain his footing but the referee instead showed the goalkeeper a yellow card. "It was a definite penalty and while there is no point in my complaining about it now I thought it was an automatic red card," said Longford manager, Stephen Kenny.

The referee explained his decision by saying: "The laws of the game say I don't send him off. He was going away from goal, the ball was going out to the left. The goalkeeper just challenged and caught him with his legs and had it happened outside (the penalty area) it would have been a yellow card and that's what I showed him."

Longford substitute Stewart Holt duly converted the penalty and a nervous Cork looked edgy from then until the end. Although Alan Bennett struck the Longford upright in one breakaway attack, Cork were forced to play the rest of the game in deep defence.

In truth they should have had the points secured long before then after their teenage goal-scoring sensation, Colin P O'Brien, had produced his fourth goal in seven appearances for them. He edged Cork two goals in front when he took a clever pass from Bennett inside the box and beat goalkeeper Stephen O'Brien with a left-foot shot inside the near upright after 54 minutes.

For a while it looked like Cork would run out easy winners. They had built on an opening goal from Kelvin Flanagan after 30 minutes to control the game but with the penalty decision Longford, despite being badly hit by the absence of several regulars, raised their game and battled to the finish without reward.

CORK CITY: Devine, Carey, Coughlan, Daly, Horgan, Flanagan, O'Grady, Bennett, Cahill, Hartigan, (Caulfield 76) O'Brien (Buckley 88).

LONGFORD TOWN: O'Brien, Murphy, Smith, McNally, (Holt 64) Byrne (W) Kirby, Perth, Byrne (S) Gavin (Zellor 59) Lavine, Rogers (Kenny 76).

Referee: J McDermott (Dublin).