Shamrock Rovers 2
St. Patrick’s Athletic 2
Darryl Geraghty reports from Tallaght Stadium
THE SHAMROCKS VERSUS SAINT Patrick on Paddy’s Day sounds like a grudge match lifted from Celtic Mythology, and neither side could be separated on the eventful day.
A sold-out Tallaght played host to an enthralling South Dublin derby in which the sides were forced to share the spoils.
Desperate to halt their disappointing slide, under-pressure Saints boss Tim Clancy made five changes, including the introduction of Birmingham-born goalkeeper, Dean Lyness, for David Odumosu who has made an erratic start to the season. With just 10-minutes played, they had a glorious opportunity to silence the crowd. Noah Lewis’ deep cross from the right found the unmarked Eoin Doyle at the back post, but on the stretch couldn’t keep his effort down.
It didn’t take long for the hosts to force the breakthrough as the pressure finally told. Richie Towell swept home beautifully from outside the area and, in a touching moment amidst the celebrations, removed his black armband holding it aloft for team-mate Aaron Greene, who sadly lost his mother this week.
To their credit, the Saints responded well, looked dangerous on the counter and really should have got level minutes later. Vladislav Kreida’s free kick from the right found Joe Redmond unmarked at the back post but the skipper saw his header back across goal drift agonisingly wide of the far post.
Five minutes before the break, the visitors deservedly equalised. Eoin Doyle reacted sharply to take advantage of a sloppy Sean Hoare touch in the area and did well to get his body in front, forcing the centre half to bring him down. Doyle kept his cool, sending Alan Mannus the wrong way from the spot.
Just after the restart, the hosts got themselves back in front through an early Goal of the Season contender from Jack Byrne. The Irish international smashed home from 25-yards, the ball flying past helpless debutant Lyness.
Smelling blood, Rovers looked for a third and couldn’t have come closer only to see Trevor Clarke’s low drive come back off the foot of the post.
Looking to get his side over the line, Stephen Bradley tried to shut up shop, taking off both front men, Kenny and Gaffney, introducing Lee Grace and Sean Hoare — but that backfired when Jake Mulraney struck to salvage a huge point for the spirited visitors.
Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus, Neil Farrugia, Sean Hoare, Roberto Lopes, Dan Cleary, Trevor Clarke (Sean Kavanagh, 62’), Richie Towell, Gary O’Neill, Jack Byrne, Rory Gaffney (Sean Gannon, 85’), Johnny Kenny (Lee Grace, 73’)
St. Patrick’s Athletic: Dean Lyness, Sam Curtis, Noah Lewis (Mark Doyle, 80’), Joe Redmond, John McGrath, Anto Breslin, Thijs Timmermans (Adam Murphy, 80’), Vladislav Kreida, Chris Forrester 9Ben McCormack, 87’), Conor Carty (Jake Mulraney, 66’), Eoin Doyle (Tommy Lonergan, 66’)
Referee: Damien MacGrath (Mayo).
Anything that nakes to game better is good with me. I think limiting the amount of subs that can come on the pitch would make the game safer. Replacing 6 forwards with 6 bigger forwards only creates bigger collisions. If most of your pack had to last 80 minutes players would be fitter and a good deal smaller.
Great to see new developments in protection for those playing contact sport . I wonder-could it become mandatory for all players or will it always be down to personal choice? Either way , great news for players and parents looking to get their kids involved in rugby .
Continued success. I wonder could that technology be used in kneepads?
It’s like Ladies Day at Ascot.