Shelbourne replace Rovers at the top

Another two-goal defeat by title rivals cost Shamrock Rovers the leadership of the Premier Division last night with Shelbourne nipping above them by a single goal in the championship table thanks to second-half strikes at Tolka Park by Jim Gannon and Jim Crawford.

After last week's setback against Cork, Damien Richardson might have been expected to shift to a more defensive approach against the other of the two teams most closely tracking his men at the top of the table. Instead, Shane Robinson came in from the start and Rovers signalled their determination to take the game to the hosts.

They may not have always succeeded but with Shelbourne getting back to their best, it made for an entertaining encounter.

The first half was particularly evenly fought with both sides knocking the ball around well and both attacks seeing enough of their opposition's goal to feel a little guilty at the break that the game remained scoreless.

Neither goalkeeper really had a save to make and each had reason on more than on one occasion to be grateful that the strikers weren't quite on top of their game.

The threat at either end steadily grew as an increasingly open game became dominated by the attacking play of the two midfields.

Eight minutes before the break Billy Woods looked to have done enough when he slipped past Peter Hutton down Rovers' left flank and curled in a low cross that first Tony Grant and then Seβn Francis both missed by a matter of inches.

Shelbourne had been lucky to get away with it but they weren't long about shaking off the fright and pressing forward themselves.

As the half moved into injury-time Jim Crawford - whose frantic work in the centre of the park was a key influence - and Owen Heary both managed decent shots from the edge of the area before Crawford again went close. The midfielder this time sidefooted just wide of the right-hand post after a low free from Pat Fenlon out on the wing.

In the circumstances Richardson must have felt that the whistle signalling the break came at a good time for his men, but little improved after play resumed with Shelbourne gradually gathering momentum and pressing forward with growing conviction against a defence that didn't always look on top of their job.

Nine minutes into the second period the breakthrough came courtesy of Gannon's thundering 25-yard drive, itself the result of neat work by Heary after Jason Colwell had been caught in possession close to his own area.

Jonathon Minnock might have made it two a couple minutes later but his shot was just wide.

The home side had to wait until the 65th for their lead to be doubled. This time it was Peter Hutton who did the spadework, getting around his man and floating in a cross that reached the unmarked Crawford at the far post, from where the headed goal was pretty much a formality.

The goal continued an odd run for Gannon and his midfield partner, with both men having scored four this season, one apiece in each of the same four games.

The lead, the players must have known, would be good enough to take Shelbourne above Rovers in the table, but though they were probably worth the margin over the course of 90 minutes, they had to dig in hard in order to hold on to it.

In the 10 minutes that followed Crawford's effort, Rovers showed greater determination than ever to fight their way back into things but again they struggled when actually confronted with the target up close.

Moments after fine work by young winger Wesley Houlihan had set Crawford up for a shot that Tony O'Dowd did well to prevent slipping low into the bottom right corner, Derek Tracey fed the ball into the path of Robinson at the other end.

Robinson, Rovers' own combination of youth and pace on the flank, scored a rather rare victory over Heary, getting past the full back and then cutting the ball low into the centre where Stephen Grant just failed to make contact on the edge of the six-yard box.

A goal at that stage might have made a memorable night of it. The miss, though, left Shelbourne in command and Rovers reeling.

SHELBOURNE: Williams; Hutton, McCarthy, Doherty, Heary; Houlihan, Gannon (D Byrne, 88 mins), Crawford, Fenlon, Minnock; Geoghegan.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: O'Dowd; Costello, Scully, Palmer, Byrne; Robinson (Kenny, 76 mins), Colwell, Deans (Tracey, 56 mins), Woods; Francis (S Grant, 61 mins), T Grant.

Referee: J McDermott (Dublin).