Graham Burke’s stunning first-half strike earned Shamrock Rovers a huge 1-0 win over St Patrick’s Athletic in Tallaght, while Stephen Bradley confirmed after the match that Matt Healy has received an Ireland call-up.
Shamrock Rovers 1
Saint Patrick’s Athletic 0
An intense encounter from the first whistle, it was St Pats who started the better, finding joy on the counter-attack, although Ed McGinty comfortably dealt with Ryan Edmondson’s early shot.
Rovers are champions for a reason, though; they have players of Graham Burke’s quality, who can create a goal out of nothing. After just nine minutes, a free-kick was headed away into his path and Burke smashed a shot into the top corner, putting Rovers in front and alleviating Pats’ early pressure.
The goal really took the wind out of Stephen Kenny’s side after a bright start; it was the Irish internationals, Burke and Jack Byrne, who dictated the tempo for Rovers as Pats, missing Chris Forrester, struggled to maintain possession in the Rover’s half. It was Kian Leavy who looked sharpest for the Saints, and he had their best chance of the first half, getting in behind the backline but Lee Grace recovered to make the block.
Early in the second half, Pats saw another good chance go to waste as James Brown flashed a half-volley just wide of the post, perhaps a warning sign to the Hoops that this game was still finely poised. That chance sparked a period of end-to-end action; Leavy almost teeing up Edmondson off a counter and Joe Redmond’s long-range effort stinging McGinty’s gloves as the game opened up. A few minutes later, Luke Turner couldn’t quite convert after some brilliance from Zack Elbouzedi; Turner really should have levelled the score.
With fifteen minutes to go, it looked like ex-Rovers defender Sean Hoare had equalized from a free-kick, but he was ruled offside by the linesman, much to the delight of the home crowd. Again, the Saints were invigorated from going so close and pushed higher up the pitch. They were almost undone on the counter-attack though, as substitute Michael Noonan had a deflected effort slide just wide of the upright.
After Max Kovalevskis, who enjoyed an impressive cameo, went close, Rovers almost scored an own goal at the other end; Tunmise Sobowale’s attempted clearance smacking off Grace, but again going just to the left of McGinty’s goalpost. The champions had to hold out in the final few minutes, but did so with a reasonable amount of comfort. Pats will lament their failure to create clear-cut chances in this game. They now head into the summer break eight points adrift of Rovers, who hold a six-point lead over Bohemians. A big crowd in Tallaght will go home somewhat disappointed by this cagey affair, but at least the home fans will be happy; their team’s experience was the key in collecting the three points. Two wins in four days for Rovers, especially in two Dublin derbies, is an excellent bounceback from consecutive losses to Dundalk and Sligo; they’ll go into the break happy.
Speaking to the media after Shamrock Rovers’ 1-0 victory over St Patrick’s Athletic, Stephen Bradley confirmed that Matt Healy will travel with the Republic of Ireland squad to Canada ahead of next Friday’s international friendly in Montreal. The news capped off another excellent night for the midfielder, who once again played a key role in the Hoops’ midfield during a huge Dublin derby win in Tallaght.
The former Cork City man now has the opportunity to make his senior international debut and joins Bohs midfielder Dawson Devoy in representing the League of Ireland within the squad. It is another significant moment for the domestic game, with Healy becoming the latest player to earn international recognition through strong performances in the Premier Division.
Man of the Match: When he’s in form, Graham Burke is usually the best player on the pitch and that was definitely the case tonight. He and Jack Byrne ran the show, working space in the midfield beautifully at times. You can almost see the nerves of the defenders when Burke picks up the ball on the edge of the box; his goal tonight was a peach, the one true moment of quality in this match. As Stephen Bradley said after the game, we shouldn’t take for granted how good a player he is.
Bradley’s confirmation also hinted that more League of Ireland involvement in the squad could still be on the way, with further additions expected to be announced tomorrow. After another impressive display under the Tallaght Stadium lights, Healy’s call-up provides further evidence of the quality currently being produced in the league.
Lineups:
Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty, Enda Stevens, Cory O’Sullivan, Lee Grace, Tunmise Sobowale, Jake Mulraney, Matthew Healy, Dylan Watts, Jack Byrne, Graham Burke, John McGovern. Substitutes: Aaron Greene for McGovern (63′), Max Kovalevskis for Mulraney, (67′), Michael Noonan for Burke, John O’Sulllivan for Byrne, Conor Malley for Watts (all 74′)
Saint Patrick’s Athletic: Joey Anang, Luke Turner, Sean Hoare, Joe Redmond, James Brown, Jamie Lennon, Barry Baggley, Zack Elbouzedi, Romal Palmer, Kian Leavy, Ryan Edmondson. Substitutes: Aidan Keena for Baggley (63′), Anto Breslin for Turner, Max Mata for Edmondson, Darragh Nugent for Palmer (all 77′), Glory Nzingo for Brown (84′)
Referee: Robert Hennessy
Attendance: 8,661