A review on Shelbourne VS Shamrock Rovers written by Matt O’Rourke
“Live it up” by Mental as Anything has been echoing around Drumcondra and surrounding areas as Shelbourne got a historic win over Shamrock Rovers in a Ringsend derby to be remembered. 2 stunning goals from captain Mark Coyle and Will Jarvis sent the reds home with a victory over the hoops.
Going into the game I’ll be honest I would’ve been very happy with a draw. The Rovers team seemed very strong even without some key players, and I felt we were missing some crucial players as well.
Now the atmosphere pre-game was electric, as it is mostly in Tolka. The display “Riverside Madness” was very appropriate and was foreshadowing at its finest.
So lets briefly touch on the first 45:
From the get go we looked a much better team then rovers. We were just keeping possession and stringing good passes together. We had a corner which Paddy Barret was taken down and Rob Harvey called a penalty in our favour. Wilson picked up the ball, lined up for the penalty, and in true Shels fashion, it went wide. After this we still looked very powerful and to be honest we were making a show of Rovers. Next, we see just before the 15 minute we’re up in Rovers box and the ball is passed to Mark Coyle outside the box and as the clock turned to the 15 minute , Mark Coyle whips one from outside the box, 1-0 to Shels, and what a goal it was! As I said in my preview , I thought his performance against Waterford was a once off and I was correct, and I mean what a way to make it up!
In the 24th minute we see Conor Kearns belt it up the field and Will Jarvis chasing it. Jarvis pulls off a beautiful touch and slots it in the goal , 2-0. This goal sent the Riverside into a frenzy , you’d almost forget we missed a peno in the 6th minute!
After that we still got a good few offensive chances but overall , I was very proud of our first half performance.
We start the second half and to be honest we slowed down as a team , and that eventually lead to Gaffney scoring one past us in the 49th minute, putting the difference back to one goal. I have to say after this goal we copped on a bit and strengthened our defence.
We had many great chances on the other end of the field, but we just couldn’t form any of them into goals unfortunately.
Now I want to dedicate this whole section to Rob Harvey and why he shouldn’t be allowed to referee games:
Towards the end, it’s almost as if Netflix was in his ear and wanted drama, because nearly every single call went against us. In extra time his inability to referee heightened, as we were always in the wrong according to him. You could tell he was holding out for a draw as it could’ve been a minute after extra time ended he refused to blow the whistle, even after we cleared the ball multiple times.
I also want to touch on Markus Poom, who got angry at a ball boy and proceeded to push him on the floor. Any normal referee would send him off for assaulting a minor, but in “Rob Harvey wonderland” attacking a child only constitutes a yellow card, and for good measure he gave a yellow card to Mark Coyle!
Even after all his antics, he couldn’t stretch it any more, and when full time whistle blew, the celebrations started! Shortly after “Freed from Desire” played and the Riverside turned into a miniature rave.
Honestly, has to be one of my favourite Shelbourne moments, up there with the likes of us beating Pats 2-1 last year.
Now if I was to give anyone man of the match, it would go to Mark Coyle. What a captivating performance from him, truly leading his team. His goal was stunning, and he had some amazing passes and challenges.
Now if I were to give anyone man of the match for Rovers it would be their 12th player on the field, the clown known as Rob Harvey!
In all seriousness though, I am absolutely delighted with the lads performance out there. We looked a bit shaky coming out on the field for the second half, but our defence was solid, and 2 belters by Coyler and Jarvis gave us the 3 points at home. This game will definitely impact the season as it’s a big win for Shelbourne. What a way to turn around the performance from Waterford in the first game.
In Conclusion, a massive win for Shelbourne at home in the Ringsend derby , a huge 3 points for us this season. And as a closing note, Rob Harvey is not a suitable referee.
Thanks for reading!
UTFR