Shamrock Rovers crept closer to contention for a European spot as they secured an emphatic 3-0 win over St. Patrick’s Athletic on a warm May evening at the Tallaght Stadium. 3,015 witnessed this Tuesday night Dublin derby, which saw the home side th
Shamrock Rovers crept closer to contention for a European spot as they secured an emphatic 3-0 win over St. Patrick’s Athletic on a warm May evening at the Tallaght Stadium. 3,015 witnessed this Tuesday night Dublin derby, which saw the home side three up inside the first hour. Rovers took the lead in the 17th minute. Under pressure from the very impressive Dan Carr, Kevin Toner slightly misplaced a back pass and Tyson Farago couldn’t prevent the corner. Brandon Miele’s perfectly flighted kick from the right was met by Lee Grace and the defender’s header glanced past Farago and into the net. Rovers confirmed their first-half superiority with a brilliant second in stoppage time. Conan Byrne was dispossessed midway inside Rovers half. Joel Coustrain, who had replaced the injured Miele, carried the ball forward and found Carr on the Rovers left. Carr’s pinpoint low cross was swept to the net by skipper Ronan Finn. Sam Bone put the issue beyond doubt seven minutes into the second half. A Graham Burke left wing free kick fell invitingly at Bone’s feet and the midfielder smashed a low drive into the bottom corner. St. Pat’s, as befitting a side on such a good run, opened brightly but in truth were somewhat toothless on the night. It might have been different if Ian Bermingham had converted Thomas Byrne’s pass when the score was 1-0 but Rovers prospered thereafter to make up some of the ground in the table on their Dublin rivals.
