Gaffney goal secures a share of the spoils for Rovers against Derry
By Daire Walsh
Rory Gaffney struck a 55th-minute goal at Tallaght Stadium this evening to earn Shamrock Rovers a 1-1 draw against Derry City in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.
The Hoops briefly fell behind to a Will Patching finish, before Gaffney bagged his fifth goal of the campaign to ensure Stephen Bradley’s charges extend their record unbeaten run for another week at least.
This result also means that Rovers stretch their lead at the summit of the top-flight table to six points, following a surprise defeat for St Patrick’s Athletic at the hands of Drogheda United last night.
Like a lot of the games that have taken place behind closed doors, goalscoring chances were few and far between during the early exchanges of this contest.
Gaffney did finally get a sight of the target on the stroke of 40 minutes, but Candystripes netminder Nathan Gartside was equal to his effort.
The Rovers rhythm had been disrupted on the first-quarter mark, when Dylan Watts was withdrawn with an injury. His place was taken by Sean Gannon and while the former Dundalk man was making an impact, the sides were scoreless at the break.
In a previous home encounter against Longford Town, Rovers fell adrift courtesy of a smoothly converted penalty. It was a similar case tonight as Patching fired home from 12 yards to give the visitors the lead on 49 minutes.
Although this was a set-back, the Hoops were back in contention when Gaffney found the net at a tight angle. The hosts were expected to push on for the remainder of the action, but Derry held firm.
Both teams ended the game with 10 men after Rovers defender Sean Hoare and Derry’s Danny Lafferty were dismissed for second yellow card offences in the closing minutes.
Next up for the Tallaght outfit is an away trip to Dundalk on Friday (kick-off 7.45pm).