Airtricity League Of Ireland Premier Division: Shamrock Rovers 1 Derry City 1
McDaid rescues City
From Daire Walsh
at Tallaght Stadium
DAVID McDaid came to the rescue at Tallaght Stadium last night, as his 77th minute strike meant that 10-men Derry City and Shamrock Rovers shared of the spoils in the third clash between the sides in the past week.
Having put up a spirited, but ultimately futile, fightback in the second leg of their Setanta Cup tie at the Brandywell on Monday, Rovers went into this game with plenty of momentum, and Candystripes skipper Barry Molloy had to be alert to clear a Craig Sives header off the line two minutes in.
Declan Devine’s charges were constantly on the back-foot during the opening stages as Gary Twigg and Daryl Kavanagh were just off target with efforts in the sixth and eighth minutes respectively.
The visitors did finally threaten Oscar Jansson’s goal with a speculative Patrick McEleney shot 18 minutes in, but they looked to have suffered a major set-back from the subsequent Rovers attack when
referee Anthony Buttimer pointed to the spot after Matthew Crossan was adjudged to have fouled Gary McCabe in the area.
Derry custodian Gerard Doherty came to rescue on this occasion, however, as he pulled off a superb save from Billy Dennehy’s penalty to keep the champions at bay for a while longer.
Rovers continued to threaten through Dennehy and McCabe on the wings, and Twigg went close
with an 18-yard strike on 25 minutes, but Derry did come into their own towards the end of the half.
First Mark Farren headed over from six yards on 39 minutes after Ruaidhri Higgins had nodded on a Dermot McCaffrey corner before the industrious McDaid forced a fine save from Jansson soon after from a tight angle on the left.
With the sides scoreless at the break, Derry would have headed into the second half with plenty of confidence, though they did suffer a blow just shy of half-time when hamstring victim Mark Farren had to be replaced by Ryan Curran up front.
The loss of the Donegal native was always going to be felt, and the Candystripes’ task became all the more difficult just a minute into the second half, when The Hoops finally broke the deadlock,
Ace marksman Twigg finished coolly to the bottom right-hand corner of Doherty’s goal via a Sives flick-on from an expertly delivered McCabe set-piece.
This put Rovers in an excellent position to push on for three valuable points, and it seemed even more likely that Stephen Kenny would get the better of his former club when Patrick McEleney was dismissed on a second yellow card for diving with 20 minutes of play remaining.
However, just when their fate looked to be sealed, Derry restored parity to the contest seven minutes after McEleney’s red card when McDaid stroked home from close range after Molloy’s initial attempt had come back off the bottom of the post from a McCaffrey cross.
This brought a real sense of urgency to a game that looked to be heading towards an inevitable conclusion.
It also led to a massive increase in intensity from the hosts, who introduced Aaron Greene in an attempt to achieve regain the lead in the closing stages.
Indeed, the former Sligo Rovers and Galway United striker was put through on goal with seven minutes left but, although his poke at goal had Doherty beaten, he could only watch as his shot drifted past the far post.
This would prove to be their best chance of reining in the Brandywell outfit as Derry held on for a hard-earned point.
MATCH STAT
Shamrock Rovers: Jansson; McCormack (Gannon 84), Gartland, Sives, Powell; McCabe (Greene 80), Turner, Finn, Dennehy; Twigg, Kavanagh (O’Neill 73).
Subs not used: Pieterse, Hawkins, Rice, Gannon, Gilbert.
Derry City: Doherty; Madden, McCallion, McBride, McCaffrey; P McEleney, Molloy, Higgins, Crossan (McGroary 33 (S McEleney 84); McDaid, Farren (Curran 44).
Subs not used: Ferry, Barr, McNamee, Bonner.
Referee: A Buttimer (Cork).