FAI Cup semi-final / Cork 1 Derry 0: The chants of "easy, easy, easy", at the end were just the first sign that the sell-out crowd at Turner's Cross were going to get a little carried away in victory last night.

The southerners have grown used to seeing their side do well this season, but either ending Derry's 25-match unbeaten run or securing a place in next month's FAI Cup final would still comfortably qualify as cause for celebration in these parts.

Managing both in the one fell swoop, it was clear, would be remembered as something quite special.

Though the manner of the defeat will be particularly painful for Derry, they will probably come to reflect that they were second best on the night. For spells at the start of each half they were outplayed by their hosts, and though they went on to create a handful of decent scoring chances, theirs was the busier of two good defences on the night.

Still, it was hard not to feel sorry for a team that had battled so hard from the outset and which came within three minutes of taking the tie back to the Brandywell on Wednesday night. Only in the first minute of four added on for stoppages did the breakthrough come, with George O'Callaghan coolly converting from the penalty spot after Stephen O'Flynn had tripped Neale Fenn as he turned just inside the area.

"I'm immensely proud of the resilience and professionalism of the players, of the concentration they showed to produce an enthralling game on a terrible pitch," said Damien Richardson immediately afterwards. "You could say that neither side deserved to win and it's impossible to overlook Derry's contribution to the game, but thank God we did win and we're back in the cup final, an overdue opportunity to renew Cork's great tradition with the occasion."

As important, perhaps, the win gives Cork a psychological edge over their rivals with a potentially decisive meeting between the sides still to come back here at Turner's Cross on the last day of the league campaign.

This season's previous meetings between these two had each also gone to the team enjoying home advantage and Derry may have to break that pattern in the middle of next month in order to lift the title and salvage a double from what was until last night potentially a treble winning season.

With John O'Flynn still struggling to shake off the effects of a groin staring, Richardson opted against risking him in the heavy ground last night and handed a recall instead to Denis Behan who had started just one game for the southerners since Derry lost here back in May.

The striker had more than one opportunity early on to make a swift impact on his return with Roy O'Donovan setting him up for a close-range shot that didn't quite come off, and George O'Callaghan providing a cross from the left that the 21-year-old connected solidly with only to see the ball fly straight into the arms of David Forde.

O'Callaghan thrived during this opening spell. Playing just off the lone striker, the former under-21 international floated in the space between the Derry defence and midfield where he operated almost unhindered at times. Outside him to his right, Roy O'Donovan did well while Liam Kearney and Joe Gamble contributed to the local side's early dominance.

The visiting side's attempts to thread the ball through the Cork defence, though, were repeatedly hindered by the heavy ground and what chances Stephen Kenny's men managed to generate before half-time almost all came from set pieces with Killian Brennan's corners causing particular problems on a few occasions.

Peter Hutton's strength and persistence almost paved the way for a breakthrough from one Brennan corner seven minutes before the break with the visiting skipper squeezing between a couple of defenders to turn the ball against the post.

Steadily Cork did start to rediscover their rhythm and their approach play through the opening stages during the early stages of the second half included most of the game's best passing moves. It looked as though they might pay for failing to make one of the chances count for Derry hauled their way back into things and this time stubbornly held their own until the end. Just when it looked as though the contest had fizzled out and they had done enough to earn the replay, O'Callaghan's penalty decided it and sent the southerners on to Tolka Park on December fourth when they will meet the winners of tomorrow's game between Drogheda and Bray.

CORK CITY: Devine; Horgan, Bennett, Murray, Murphy; O'Donovan, O'Brien, Gamble, Kearney (Woods, 69 mins); O'Callaghan; Behan (Fenn, 84 mins).

DERRY CITY: Forde; McCallion, Hutton, McChrystal, Hargan; Deery, Martyn, Molloy, K Brennan (McCourt, 81 mins); Beckett (O'Flynn, 69 mins), Farren (Murphy, 75 mins).

Referee: D Hancock (Dublin).