Shamrock Rovers maintained their position at the top of the Premier Division table with a 1-0 win away at St. Patrick's Athletic on Friday night. An eighth minute penalty converted by Aaron McEneff was enough to give the Hoops the three points and
Shamrock Rovers maintained their position at the top of the Premier Division table with a 1-0 win away at St. Patrick's Athletic on Friday night. An eighth minute penalty converted by Aaron McEneff was enough to give the Hoops the three points and inflict a first defeat of the season on Harry Kenny's Saints. Pats' Brandon Miele came close to opening the scoring against his former side before Kevin Toner brought down Aaron Greene in the box. McEneff stepped up to calmly put the penalty past Brendan Clarke. It really should have been 2-0 on the half hour when Rovers' Dan Carr put the ball wide with the goal at his mercy after being played through by Jack Byrne. Pats threatened towards the end of the first half with Mikey Drennan unable to convert a couple of chances. Just after the hour, Clarke produced an outstanding save to keep out Joey O'Brien before Aaron Greene missed an absolute sitter with 12 minutes remaining. A mix-up between Toner and Clarke left Greene clean through but he volleyed wide in front of an open goal. Greene again came close injury time but in the end Rovers were good value for their victory. Despite this, manager Stephen Bradley may feel the margin of victory could have been wider and the fact that Pats goalkeeper Brendan Clarke was named man of the match reflected this. Next up for the Hoops, a home game against Sligo Rovers next Friday while Saints travel to Waterford.
