Shamrock Rovers picked up a first win in all competitions since March on Monday night as they knocked Cork City off the top of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division. Goals from Graham Burke and Ethan Boyle had Rovers in command in the first-ha
Shamrock Rovers picked up a first win in all competitions since March on Monday night as they knocked Cork City off the top of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division. Goals from Graham Burke and Ethan Boyle had Rovers in command in the first-half at Tallaght Stadium, and Roberto Lopes put the result beyond doubt on the hour mark. Manager Stephen Bradley tells our reporter Peter Branigan that a result like this one has been coming. "The result or the performance doesn't surprise me, because we were excellent against Limerick and Derry (both draws). That little bit of luck in front of goals was with us tonight. "Both of those games could have been 5-0, and when you really break it down, we weren't playing badly. Actually, we were playing really well. "Cork had to adjust to us tonight, and that's a credit to my players. We dictated the game to them." Burke was particularly impressive on the night, and he received a standing ovation when he was substituted in the second-half. His wonder strike opener, inside three minutes, set the tone for the match. At the other end, Kevin Horgan made a couple of truly outstanding saves when the game was still in the balance, and Bradley reserved particular praise for the Galway native. "He's been an easy target for one or two people to have a go at, and they have. He's only a young boy. But he showed unbelievable character to stand up to it, and produce what he's produced tonight." Bradley confirmed afterwards that both Ronan Finn and Joey O'Brien were unfit, but they wanted to face the champions. "Joey and Ronan were both struggling until about three or four o'clock today, and I would have left both of them out. "But both were adamant that they would take part. When Joey plays, he settles the defence, and we look a lot more solid when he plays. He was brilliant on Friday, and tonight." The Hoops' recent form has seen them go six games without a win, scoring just three goals in the process. Bradley says supporters at Tallaght Stadium will always demand more. "At a club like this, two defeats is a lot. So I get why why there is anger and frustration amongst some of the supporters. They are two games we should win. So I totally get it. One game was a ninety-ninth minute winner (against Bohs), the other (against Bray) was a sloppy pass in gale force winds. "When you look at the games after that, we've been really, really good. So there was never a panic, there was never a worry. "Yeah we were angry and hurt, but we knew we weren't a million miles away. They were just two bad days." Next up for Rovers is a Dublin Derby with St Pats at Inchicore on Friday. Liam Buckley's men were well beaten by new league leaders Dundalk on Monday. Rovers were also victorious when the sides clashed earlier in the season, and Bradley says it's a game they can win. "We're three unbeaten in the league now. We'll take belief from tonight, from the Limerick game, from parts of the Bohs game, and definitely from the Derry performance. We're full of confidence going into Friday night. We know it's going to be a difficult game, but we're going there looking for three points. "Stay focused, keep doing what we're doing. It's only early in the season, let's see where it takes us."
