Hoops come from behind to regain top spot in the Premier Division
By Daire Walsh
Shamrock Rovers recovered from a slow start at the Tallaght Stadium last night to claim a 3-1 victory against Dundalk and move back to the summit of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table – for the time being at least.
After falling behind to an early Patrick Hoban finish, the Hoops subsequently responded through Liam Scales and Sean Gannon to bring a slender cushion into the interval.
Kilnamanagh’s Aaron Greene was then on hand to wrap up maximum points in the second period and put the champions in fine spirits ahead of their UEFA Champions League qualifier with Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday.
With St Patrick’s Athletic losing out to Bohemians at Dalymount Park, Stephen Bradley’s men are now three points clear in first place.
Liam Buckley’s Sligo Rovers could move level with their namesakes with a win over Longford later today, but the Hoops will be satisfied for now.
Rather than slowly introducing him to the fray, Bradley immediately thrust new signing Richie Towell into the starting line-up against his old club. However, a former colleague of his had reason to be cheerful on 12 minutes.
Capitalising on a defensive mishap, Michael Duffy played in Hoban for a smooth finish into the bottom corner. This ramped up the pressure on Rovers, but their response was emphatic.
Moving into a central area, Scales unleashed an unstoppable left-footed drive to the Lilywhites net.
A strike like that was always going to be hard to top, though ex-Dundalk star Gannon came close with a belting injury-time strike that opposition netminder Alessio Abibi was powerless to stop.
Now in his second spell as manager of the Louth outfit, Vinny Perth was making a welcome return to his native Tallaght. His charges were not out of the reckoning just yet, but Rovers were operating with renewed confidence.
Playing in front of a passionate crowd – 1,000 supporters were permitted to attend this game as outdoor sporting events continue to open their doors to fans – the Hoops finally saw off the Dundalk challenge when Greene superbly found the far corner of Abibi’s goal from a left-hand angle.