Shamrock Rovers 2
Dundalk 2
— Niall Kelly reports from Tallaght Stadium
MIKEY DRENNAN HIT a quick-fire double as Shamrock Rovers came from two goals down to earn a point against 10-man Dundalk.
Former Hoops favourite Ronan Finn silenced the Tallaght crowd when he pounced to put the champions 2-0 up — just 13 seconds into the second half.
But on a night for old heroes and new, Drennan struck twice in the space of four minutes to ensure both sides remain unbeaten after this early-season classic.
His first came from the penalty spot after Dundalk keeper Gary Rogers was shown a straight red for a clumsy challenge on Ryan Brennan.
But there was a touch of class about his spectacular equaliser, rifled high into the top corner on the stroke of the hour.
Drennan then missed a glorious opportunity to snatch all three points four minutes from the end when he blazed over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
And despite their numerical advantage — and six minutes of added time — Rovers couldn’t bring an end to Dundalk’s remarkable unbeaten run which now stands at 18 games in all competitions.
In fact, it was Dundalk goalscorer Dave McMillan who very nearly had the last laugh with the final kick of the game only to be denied by Craig Hyland.
The draw leaves four points between the sides, though Dundalk’s advantage at the top was cut to the bare minimum by Cork City’s win in Drogheda.
Martin O’Neill was among the Tallaght crowd and there was no shortage of drama to entertain the Ireland boss. It was a game defined by mistakes at both ends, as well as a moment of class from Drennan.
Missing playmaker Keith Fahey due to suspension, Rovers settled the quickest although the better chances in the first half all went the visitors’ way.
Daryl Horgan nearly opened the scoring in 13th minute, though there would have been more than a stroke of luck involved had his looping cross dipped underneath Hyland’s crossbar rather than dropping on top of it, while Rogers was relieved to see a Gary McCabe drive whistle the wrong side of his post.
Dundalk’s best chances in the opening period came courtesy of Rovers’ mistakes, and the warning signs were there long before McMillan opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with his fifth of the season.
He would have loved the chance presented to Darren Meenan in the 28th minute. Ryan Brennan’s poor attempt to switch the play from right to left put the Rovers defence in all kinds of trouble, and although Meenan beat Conor Kenna to the ball, his shot came back off Hyland’s legs.
McMillan wouldn’t make the same mistake when he got his opportunity. This time it was David Webster who underhit the pass and McMillan beat Hyland with no fuss.
It was the first home league goal Rovers have conceded since last July — the first of the Pat Fenlon era, in fact.
And if Tallaght seemed stunned by that sucker-punch, it was nothing compared to Dundalk’s second in the opening moments of the second-half.
Finn’s creativity made him an obvious favourite during his Tallaght days but, with the boos ringing in his ears, he showed his former employer no mercy. He outmuscled Webster to win McMillan’s flick on and finished past Hyland.
Dundalk seemed to be cruising to a seventh win in eight games but the evening was turned on its head when a defensive lapse allowed Ryan Brennan to steal in on 52 minutes, and Rogers brought him down.
When the dust finally settled, his replacement Gabriel Sava’s first job was to pick the ball out of the net as Drennan smashed home from the spot.
And the former Aston Villa youth levelled the match with sublime finish on the stroke of the hour, cutting in from the right and holding off Andy Boyle before smashing the equaliser across Sava and into the top corner.
Drennan had two gilt-edged chances for his hat-trick but poked one at Sava at the back post, and then blazed over in the 86th minute after a smart pull-back by sub Brandon Miele.
McMillan very nearly snatched all three points at the death but Hyland wasn’t to be beaten for a third time.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Craig Hyland, Simon Madden, Conor Kenna, David Webster, David O’Connor, Patrick Cregg (Danny North 80), Stephen McPhail, Ryan Brennan, Gary McCabe (Kieran Marty Waters 86), Sean O’Connor (Brandon Miele 75), Mikey Drennan.
DUNDALK: Gary Rogers, Sean Gannon, Brian Gartland, Andy Boyle, Dane Massey, Chris Shields, Darren Meenan (Gabriel Sava 54), Ronan Finn (John Mountney 83), Richie Towell, Daryl Horgan (Stephen O’Donnell 70), David McMillan.
Referee: Neil Doyle
I think much more misdirection can be gained from a flat or end over end pass, especially when the pass is in to space rather than directly to the man. Playing touch rugby in Auckland over summer and all the space is opened up by league style passing, out in front, easy to take at full tilt and using the ball to do the work. I remember Keith Wood saying he could have ran any number of lines when He scored off Axel Foleys sympathetic pass from a Lineout V England in 01 I think it was. Foley popped the ball up in space and Wood came on to the ball and went of the line. In the end he took the hardest route and went over the top of the defender, but he maintained several times that the pass made the try, not his bump off.
I suppose none of the great passing at Bath has anything to do with the influence of one P Stringer??
Really!!!!!
A Great player. Never got the same recognition as O’Gara(equally great player).
Just about to comment that John but you got there before me!
very interesting read the skill of a good simple pass in front of the player is some thing the all blacks do best ,The more league type pass is very like the passing you see when watching older games like classic lions and babas games .
Murray, whether you spin the ball or not, depends on whether you are going right to left or vice-versa.
A right handed player will use a spin pass if he/she is passing the ball from right to left because it is natural.
You can get a spin pass off as quick as a flat pass and if you are running straight lines, without letting your eyes give away your next move, then it is equally deceptive.
How is an end over end pass easier to catch?
How is slower, better? It gives the opposition more time to ping you. An end over end pass can wobble in the air.
We use to call end over end passes, bog passes, the Rugby equivalent of the bog toe(toe poke in England)
“The rush defence favoured by so many top-level teams in union has its roots in rugby league; there is more we can learn.”
The rush defence is countered by dinks over the top(not a cross filed kick). Even if a player cannot get the ball, the threat is in the back of the mind of the defending team, so they don’t ‘rush’ up as fast. See Christophe Lamaison’s masterclass in dismantling of the rush defence masters, New Zealand in the ’99 WC. It would be perfect for England’s Linear defence tactics. Big guys, don’t like to turn! It frees up midfield and allows our smaller backs, space.
This can’t be done in league until final tackle.
Nothing to do with the person being right or left handed. Maybe in junior rugby. In professional rugby It’s the distance of the pass that would determine whether a spin pass is needed.
Nothing to do with distance. You cannot use a weighted(end over end pass) over a long distance.The issue which the article addresses is about selecting spin or weighted over a distance in which both can be used excluding close quarter, pop passes.
Murray is arguing for the non spin when non spin can be used.
“Both Ford and Eastmond are sympathetic in their passing; when a teammate is close enough, they don’t spin the ball.”
Over greater distances the issue is redundant.
Your first two sentences contradict eachother.
No, they don’t Gareth. Have another go.
As MK pointed out, league uses the screen to attack and counter the rush D. The use of a end over end is key to this. A spin pass is easy to read and you can watch the player not the ball. With a traditional pass, the ball dictates where the defender is, allowing an attacker to counter a fast D with angles of running. It has nothing to do with left or right handed players, and when practiced, the end over end is just as quick for short and medium passes. I agree over long distances a spin is required,but the article says this also. In addition, an end over end can be passed using the wrist, with minimal arm movement, whereas the spin uses wrist and cross body arm movement to generate the spin and power, especially in amateur rugby. How league and rugby differs is in the propensity of rugby 1st receivers to lie flatter than in league, benefiting the rush D. In league, the 1st receiver lies deeper on 4th tackle to allow him to run the option, similar to a passing down in NFL.
Also, in league you can kick on any tackle, but because possession is everything in that game the kick is used for territory or where a try is unlikely to be scored by passing, so they use a kick to force a goaline restart or a speculative bomb for the wingers to challenge for close to the line. The dink through in the middle of the park is not common as if it doesn’t work you give up field position, it’s a low percentage play. I don’t know if you have ever tried to take a hard spin at full pace, but I can tell you from many years experience playing and watching rugby, it’s harder than trying to take an end over end or a traditional pass.
Shaggy criticised Madigan for his spin-passing being unsympathetic in the Wolfhounds v Saxons match. One such pass led to the Saxons’ intercept try.
Reddan is a disaster for lashing out rapid spin passes to players on the burst no more thanks 5 yards away, gives the oncoming attacker no chance of holding it