Soccer

League of Ireland round-up: Shamrock Rovers take step towards title with victory over Dundalk

St Pat’s labour to victory over UCD; Drogheda secure crucial win over Cork City

Dundalk's Greg Sloggett with Rory Gaffney of Shamrock Rovers. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Dundalk's Greg Sloggett with Rory Gaffney of Shamrock Rovers. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Fri Aug 25 2023 - 22:32

Shamrock Rovers 1 Dundalk 0

Shamrock Rovers took another huge step towards a potential fourth league title in-a-row as Roberto Lopes’ 63rd minute header proved the difference against Dundalk at Tallaght Stadium.

Stephen Bradley’s side came into the game on the back of a fortnight off following their early exit from both Europe and the FAI Cup and they had to ride their luck at times as they sought to improve on a run of form that had seen them win just two of their last 10 matches in all competitions.

While Rory Gaffney stung the palms of Nathan Shepperd early on, it was Dundalk who had the better of the chances in the opening half with John Martin being denied by Alan Mannus from Archie Davies’ cross on 22 minutes.

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Lee Grace was then called into action on the half-hour mark to make a last gasp block to deny Daniel Kelly after the winger had been slipped in by Johannes’ Yli-Kokko before Stephen O’Donnell’s side passed up their best chance to break the deadlock on 36 minutes when Martin headed against the butt of the post from four yards out after Davies’ cross from the right had looped up kindly for him at the back post.

Martin would go close again for the Louth men within four minutes of the restart when he was slipped in by Daryl Horgan but his left-foot shot was well saved by Mannus.

Rovers then began to take charge and after Dylan Watts fired just wide from Liam Burt’s cut back, they finally found the breakthrough on 63 minutes when Lopes rose highest to head home Watts’ corner for his fifth career goal against Dundalk.

While Gaffney was denied an insurance goal by a brilliant stop from Shepperd, the visitors too had their chances to rescue something from the game as Mannus denied both Kelly and substitute Sam Durrant.

The result means Dundalk’s slim title hopes are all but over but for Rovers, the bid to equal their own historic side of the 1980s remains very much on track.

Shamrock Rovers: Mannus; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Finn (Clarke 71), Watts (Towell 76), O’Neill, Burt (Poom 53), Kavanagh; Burke (Kenny 71); Gaffney.

Dundalk: Shepperd; Davies, Brownlie, Annesley, Muller (McCourt 81); Sloggett (Lewis 64), Malley (Elliott 81), Yli-Kokko (Durrant 75); Kelly, Martin (Hoban 64), Horgan.

Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).

Bohemians 2 Derry City 2

Bohemians and Derry City both fell seven points adrift of defending champions Shamrock Rovers at the summit of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table after they couldn’t be separated at the end of an incident-filled clash at Dalymount Park last night.

Originally set to get underway at the standard time of 7.45pm, this contest was delayed by 45 minutes owing to a local power outage that caused an issue with the floodlights in the Phibsborough venue.

With Rovers and second-placed St Patrick’s Athletic having wrapped up victories against Dundalk and UCD respectively long before the action came to a close, the Gypsies and their northern counterparts now appear outside bets for a title charge – albeit Derry still have a game in hand on the top-two.

Fresh from scoring a brace in their 6-0 demolition of Rockmount in the FAI Cup at the same ground seven days earlier, James Clarke was put through on goal by Paddy Kirk with just 13 minutes gone on the clock and calmly fired the ball beyond the reach of Derry netminder Brian Maher to give Bohs the lead.

Yet despite coming into this tie on the back of penalty shootout defeats in both the Uefa Europa Conference League qualifiers and the FAI Cup, the Candystripes were back on level terms by the first-quarter mark.

Following excellent link-up play with Paul McMullan, Michael Duffy had a strike deflected into the bottom left-hand corner of the Bohs net. This helped to spark Ruaidhri Higgins’ side into life and the visitors ultimately brought a 2-1 cushion into the interval after Danny Mullen superbly headed home a Ciaran Coll cross in the 43rd-minute.

While this raised the prospect of a second home reversal at the hands of Derry in 2023, Bohs quickly got themselves back into contention on the resumption. When Sadou Diallo fouled the raiding Adam McDonnell inside the box, Gypsies centre-forward Jonathan Afolabi stepped up to the penalty spot on 53 minutes and coolly slotted home an equaliser from 12 yards.

Bohs found themselves on the back foot in the immediate aftermath of this goal, however, as Ben Doherty rattled their crossbar with a fierce long-distance drive moments after James Talbot produced a spectacular save off another Mullen header.

There was plenty of endeavour inside the final half-hour of an enthralling affair but, in the end, the two sides had to be content with a share of the spoils.

Bohemians: Talbot; Buckley, Nowak, Radkowski, Kirk; Flores, McDonnell; Connolly (McDaid, 64 mins), Clarke, Grant (Coote, 79 mins); Afolabi (O’Sullivan, 87 mins).

Derry City: Maher; Coll, McJannet, Connolly (S McEleney, 18 mins), Doherty; O’Reilly, Diallo (P McEleney, 64 mins), Patching; McMullan, Mullen (McGonigle, 79 mins), Duffy.

Referee: R Harvey (Dublin).

UCD 0 St Patrick’s Athletic 1

Joe Redmond led by example with a first-half winner as St Patrick’s laboured to victory at the UCD Bowl.

Though they dominated possession, St Pat’s had goalkeeper Dean Lyness to thank for big saves in both halves while UCD also hit a post late on.

It is as you were at the top of the table as St Pat’s stay four point off leaders Shamrock Rovers. UCD remain 14 points adrift at the bottom.

St Patrick’s had scored 13 goals in the side’s previous three meetings this season, including seven when they last met at Richmond Park at the end of June, but they made hard work of breaking UCD down here.

With Northern Ireland international Ryan McLaughlin making his debut at right-back in one of three changes from their penalty shoot-out win at Derry City last Sunday, St Pat’s not unexpectedly enjoyed plenty of the ball from the start.

Despite that, it was UCD who brought the first real threat on goal on 13 minutes, Dara Keane collecting an incisive pass from Sean Brennan to drill his shot not far wide of Lyness’ right-hand post.

Minutes later Lyness had to react well to push a Jack Keaney header round a post from Brennan’s free kick.

While continuing to dominate possession, St Pat’s were struggling to create much in the final third, never mind trouble Lorcan Healy in the College goal.

They were then stretched on the counter as Brennan broke down the middle to set up Danu Kinsella-Bishop who drove his shot wide.

Just when it looked like the visitors’ frustration would be taken into the half-time break, they scored from their fourth corner of the game on 43 minutes.

The UCD marking was all but non-existent as skipper Redmond arrived at the back post to score with a free header from Jake Mulraney’s delivery.

In a repeat pattern of the first half, St Pat’s controlled the ball, but continued to struggle in front of goal.

It was the hour mark before they threatened, Mulraney’s shot deflected out for another corner.

And while Mulraney bounced another corner on to the crossbar, as in the first half, it was Lyness who a minute earlier was first to be forced into a save, pushing away a speculative shot from substitute Jake Doyle.

St Patrick’s then had a right let off the double on 80 minutes.

Lyness first made the save of the game to deprive the lively Brennan. Kinsella-Bishop then saw his follow-up shot come back off a post.

UCD: Healy; Osam (O’Brien, 84), Keaney, Wells, Dempsey (Curtis, 79); Verdon (Doyle, 73), Keane; Norris (Raggett, 79), Brennan, Behan (Higgins, 73); Kinsella-Bishop.

St Patrick’s Athletic: Lyness; McLaughlin, Redmond, McGrath, Breslin; Lennon (McCormack, 82), Murphy (Doyle, 70); Mulraney, Leavy, Forrester; Carty (Lonergan, 82).

Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan (Cork).

Drogheda United 3 Cork City 1

Drogheda United beat Cork City for the first time in over a decade as a brace of late goals earned them a crucial victory in the race to avoid relegation from the Premier Division.

Kevin Custovic’s first-half header had Cork in control. Malik Dijksteel, before his second half sending off, was denied by Andrew Wogan and Ruairi Keating wastefully shot over when well-positioned.

The Dutch winger was shown a second yellow card by referee Rob Hennessy for a shove on Luke Heeney. To that point, United were second best but with a man advantage, their tails were soon up.

The home team were level when Kyle Robinson finished emphatically after Conor Keeley knocked a free kick down, into the striker’s path. Keeley had himself gone close shortly after the game restarted. His header from a corner cannoned off the crossbar.

At the other end, the frame of the goal proved just as crucial. Keating was afforded space to run at the United rearguard. His shot across goal hit the post.

United had not beaten the Leesiders in any competition in over ten years but Aaron McNally’s late goal and an injury time penalty from Ryan Brennan is meaningful in more way than one. Kevin Doherty’s team now sit eight points clear of the relegation playoff spot.

Drogheda United: Wogan; Heeney, Keeley, Weir, Kane; Deegan, Brennan; Foley, Markey (Davis, 52), Rooney (McNally, 73); Robinson.

Cork City: Byrne; Custovic, Coleman, Honohan, Drinan; Stanulevicius (Walker, 53), Kravchuk; Bargary, Worman (Kabia, 62), Dijksteel; Keating.

Referee: Rob Hennessy