Liivak and Keena combine as Sligo end their away day blues

SHELBOURNE 0

SLIGO ROVERS 2

Ronan McNamara

SLIGO ROVERS ENDED their away day blues as they earned their first away league win since April and just their fourth all season.

Expert finishes from Frank Liivak and star marksman Aidan Keena gave John Russell’s charges their first win on the road in all competitions since beating Scottish side Motherwell in July.

Shelbourne boss Damien Duff would have been pleased with the Reds first half performance despite trudging down the tunnel a Liivak goal in arrears at the interval.

The Drumcondra outfit started well and peppered the Sligo goal but were unable to force stopper Luke McNicholas into a save.

There were half-hearted penalty shouts after Jack Moylan’s shot was deflected wide before Shane Farrell and Boyd both saw efforts from in the area bend the wrong side of the post.

The Bit O’Red hung in well for large periods of the opening half and they hit the front thanks to a cool finish from Liivak.

Sligo Rovers' Frank Liivak scores a goal. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

The Estonian gamely gave chase to a ball over the top of the Shelbourne back three and he was rewarded, slipping the ball past Brendan Clarke at his near post.

The visitors should have doubled their lead seven minutes after the interval and Liivak turned providor, sliding a defence splitting pass to Max Mata but Clarke came steaming out to deflect the effort.

Moylan almost drew his side level after seeing a shot fizz wide of the top corner following a move that saw ten passes strung together from back to front.

Shels were guilty of being ponderous in possession, often playing backwards which invited Rovers to press them and they were punished as Aidan Keena hunted down Shane Griffin and curled the ball neatly by Clarke for his 15^th of the season.

Shane Farrell almost teed up a grandstand finish but his goalbound effort at the back post was deflected wide by Gavin Molloy.

Sligo will head west with back-to-back league wins for the first time since April while Shelbourne’s winless run has been extended to five games last tasting victory in Tolka Park in July.

Shelbourne: Brendan Clarke, John Ross Wilson (Giurgi 84), Gavin Molloy, Aaron O’Driscoll, Shane Griffin, Shane Farrell, JJ Lunney (Coyle 84), Aodh Dervin (McManus 60), Jack Moylan (Hodgins 74), Matty Smith, Sean Boyd (Carr 74)

Sligo Rovers: Luke McNicholas, Greg Bolger, Aidan Keena, Frank Liivak (Barlow 80), Max Mata (Fitzgerald 64), Lewis Banks, Shane Blayney, Paddy Kirk, Nando Pijnaker (Horgan 46), Adam McDonnell (Morahan 82), Robbie Burton