Airtricity League round-up: Shamrock Rovers put icing on cake with come from behind win

Shamrock Rovers 4 Sligo Rovers 2

Shamrock Rovers put the icing on the cake of their 21st League title with an excellent come-from-behind win in front of a record crowd of 8,021 at Tallaght Stadium.

It was a bittersweet night for the Hoops faithful as they said goodbye to two club stalwarts in captain Ronan Finn, who is going full circle heading back to where it all began at UCD, and goalkeeper Alan Mannus, who hands up his gloves at 41.

The visitors, already assured of their Premier Division status thanks to last week’s 0-0 draw at home to Drogheda United, looked to spoil the party and got themselves ahead less than 10 minutes in when Kailin Barlow took advantage of a slack Roberto Lopes pass out from the back, before racing clear and coolly slotting home.

But on the stroke of half-time, Graham Burke levelled proceedings as he powered home just inside the area.

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Substitute Dylan Watts put his side ahead with a beautiful free-kick after the restart, before fellow sub Aaron Greene scooped home to make it three.

Minutes later, man-of-the-match Watts got his second from close range before Mannus received a deserved standing ovation for his services to the four-in-a-row champions.

Fabrice Hartmann did add a consolation with 10 minutes remaining to give the travelling support one last cheer.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Alan Mannus (Leon Pohls, 68); Daniel Cleary (Seán Hoare, 45), Roberto Lopes, Lee Grace; Ronan Finn (Neil Farrugia, 2), Richie Towell (Dylan Watts, 45), Gary O’Neill, Graham Burke (Aaron Greene, 57), Seán Kavanagh; Rory Gaffney, Johnny Kenny.

SLIGO ROVERS: Conor Walsh; Niall Morahan (Lukas Browning, 64), Garry Buckley, John Mahon, Reece Hutchinson (Johan Brannefalk, 74); Karl O’Sullivan, Greg Bolger (Stefan Radosavljevic, 74), David Cawley (Owen Elding, 56), William Fitzgerald; Kailin Barlow, Fabrice Hartmann.

Referee: Damien MacGrath

[ Premier Division table ]

Derry City 3 St Patrick’s Athletic 0

St Patrick’s Athletic, clearly with one eye on next week’s FAI Cup final, made seven changes from the side which lost against league champions Shamrock Rovers when facing Derry City at the Brandywell.

And with the Candystripes cruising to victory they have finished in second spot in consecutive seasons, seven points behind Rovers.

Derry totally dominated the first half and really should have ended this game as a contest before the half-time whistle.

From the opening minutes the home side controlled the ball with centre back Mark Connolly missing an early opening, his header following a Paul McMullan cross failing to find the net from close range.

Pat’s midfielder Jason McClelland did well to head the ball off his goal-line in the 10th minute when McMullan delivered yet another teasing cross into the danger area.

And Derry’s early pressure was finally rewarded in the 12th minute when Cameron McJannet appeared to get his head to the ball in the 12th minute to hit the net, but Brandon Kavanagh may also claim the strike as he appeared to get a faint touch to the ball before it entered the net.

The home side deservedly doubled their advantage in the 25th minute. A flowing move involving Ben Doherty and Kavanagh saw the ball fed into the path of Will Patching and having taken control of the ball he found the top corner of the net.

Just before half-time St Pat’s defender Anto Breslin was fortunate not to net an own goal having attempted to clear a Doherty cross, the ball sailing over the crossbar.

And Michael Duffy squandered a glorious chance to kill the game off before the break when McMullan set him up following a one-two with Patching, the striker failing to hit the target when well placed.

St Pat’s attempted to raise their game following the change of ends with McClelland driving his side’s first shot on target towards the Derry goal, the ball punched clear by home keeper, Brian Maher.

Striker Michael Duffy sensationally missed a second sitter in the 55th minute when Patching played him in, but the Derry man amazingly ballooned the ball over the Pats crossbar.

Pat’s keeper Dean Lyness did superbly well in the 69th minute when diving low to deny Patching who failed to get the necessary power into his shot.

Substitute Jordan McEneff, who netted Derry’s first goal of the 2023 season, netted the final goal of the campaign during the dying minutes to end the campaign as top scorer for Derry with eight goals.

DERRY CITY: Maher, Boyce, Connolly, McJannet, Doherty; Dummigan, Patching; McMullan (McLaughlin, 89), P. McEleney (O’Donnell, 89), B. Kavanagh (McEneff, 79); Duffy (Mullen, 79).

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Lyness; Curtis, Redmond, (Timmermans, h/t), McGrath, Breslin (Norman, h/t); Forrester (Dodd, 82), McCormack; Mulraney (Melia, 70), McClelland, Nolan; Carty (Lonergan, 65).

Referee: R Harvey (Dublin).

Drogheda United 2 Shelbourne 4

Shelbourne’s European dream lives on, now depending on whether St Patrick’s Athletic can claim the FAI Cup next weekend, as they secured a fourth-place finish in the league with a second-half comeback helped by Luke Heeney’s 49th-minute dismissal for Drogheda United.

The half-time whistle blew with Drogheda United two goals to the good on home soil and looking likely to spoil the aspirations of Damien Duff’s team. Instead, Jack Moylan halved that deficit minutes after the restart and seconds later Heeney’s second yellow card signposted how this game was to play out.

Shels clinically took advantage of their extra man, with Hull City loanee Will Jarvis, Moylan again and Paddy Barrett scoring to confirm the victory.

Dayle Rooney and a sensational Adam Foley volley set Drogheda on their way in the opening 45 minutes. The visitors had started better but United scored with their first real openings of the match.

Moylan’s two goals, bringing his tally for a brilliant season to 15, saw him depart in the perfect fashion as he gets set to join League One side Lincoln City.

DROGHEDA UNITED: Wogan; Heeney, Keeley, Weir, McNally (Egan, 76); Deegan, O’Brien; Foley (Noone, 66), Markey (Davis, 66), Rooney; Robinson (Jones, 52).

SHELBOURNE: Kearns; T Wilson, Barrett, Molloy, Griffin (Byrne, 84); Lunney, Coyle, Wood (JR Wilson, 90+1); Farrell (Caffrey, 76), Moylan, Jarvis (Hakiki, 90+1).

Referee: Eoghan O’Shea

UCD 1 Dundalk 5

Patrick Hoban capped what may be his last game for the club with a brace, the second his 150th goal for them, as Dundalk blew relegated UCD away in the second half at the Bowl.

But despite a fifth win from their final six games, it wasn’t enough to snatch a potential European place as Stephen O’Donnell’s side had to settle for a fifth-place finish.

Though enjoying plenty of the ball from the off, Dundalk found themselves behind from UCD’s first attack after just six minutes.

Ciarán Behan wasn’t tracked as he burst forward through midfield to feed Jesse Dempsey in plenty of space on the left.

Hayden Muller failed to cut out the low cross under pressure from Mikey Raggett. The ball ran across goal to the inrushing Michael Gallagher who, despite scuffing his shot, found the net for his first goal of the season.

The woodwork prevented an equaliser on 28 minutes as Dundalk finally put some purpose to their possession, Muller’s drive crashing back off Lorcan Healy’s crossbar.

Archie Davies then worked Healy before Dundalk deservedly levelled five minutes later.

Gallagher’s clearance from Connor Malley’s low cross ran straight to Paul Doyle with the former Student beating Healy with a crisp left-foot shot.

Dundalk again laboured initially to make their possession pay in the second before they broke UCD’s resolve with a three-goal salvo inside seven minutes.

Daryl Horgan skipped in behind on to skipper Hoban’s clever flick to blast to the roof of the net on 64 minutes.

A sublime through ball by Malley threaded substitute Dan Kelly in behind to round Healy and slide home before Hoban added the fourth goal with a trademark header from Kelly’s cross.

The club’s record goalscorer, whose future remains undecided despite having a year to run on this contract, completed the scoring on 86 minutes, scooping home after John Martin’s shot came back off a post.

UCD: Healy; Clancy, Keaney, Osam; Verdon (Barr, 65), Wells; Gallagher (O’Regan, h-t), Brennan (Higgins, 78), Behan, Dempsey (Norris, h-t); Raggett (Kinsella-Bishop, 65).

DUNDALK: Shepperd; Davies, Sloggett, Boyle, Muller (Durrant, 76); O’Kane (Kelly, 54), Malley, Doyle (Benson, 65), Horgan (Ward, 76); Hoban, Elliott (Martin, 76).

Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan (Cork).