An easy win for Derry City, and a heartbreaking finish for Cork City as Shamrock Rovers grab a goal at the death, there was plenty of action in tonight’s games
By Adrian Collins
Bohemians v Sligo Rovers
On a pitch that really wasn’t in any state for a game of football, Sligo Rovers proved far too strong for their hosts at Dalymount Park. It was a testament to the quality of both teams that the game was a good spectacle, given that the ball bobbled about on even the shortest passes.
Raffaelle Cretaro got an early goal for Sligo which gave the champions a platform to work from after just two minutes, with Aaron Greene adding one on the half hour mark to make it 2-0 at the break.
Anthony Elding added another for Sligo in the second half, but the score line perhaps slightly flattered Sligo, and even man of the match David Crawley admitted it probably wasn’t a fair reflection of the game.
As they always say though, it’s the sign of a championship contender that they can play poorly and still get the win.
Bray Wanderers v UCD
The Students thought they had a win away to Bray after what’s been a poor run of form , but victory was snatched form them with just ten minutes to go.
Jason Byrne scored very early for Bray, netting in just the 4th minute, finishing from close range past Mark McGinley in goal for UCD.
However, unlike in previous games, they didn’t let their heads drop and resisted fruther pressure from Wanderers to fight back and score an equaliser through David McMillan.
They added a second from the penalty spot after Bray keeper Darren Quigley was sent off for a foul on Gary Burke. Neil Doyle of Wanderers’ midfield slipped on the gloves to see them through to the half, but couldn’t stop the penalty.
With ten men, Bray still applied a great amount of pressure, and got their reward in the 80th minute after John Mulroy finished an easy chance created by Jason Byrne and Gary Dempsey.
Shamrock Rovers v Cork City
Heartbreak for Cork as they conceded very late on away in Tallaght Stadium, and they will most certainly look back on this as two points lost.
Cork took the lead through Colin Healy in the 35th minute, who finished from Adam Rundle’s cross, but it proved to not be enough to see them through to the end.
Cork were reduced to ten men just after the hour as Darren Dennehy saw red for a poor tackle on Stephen Rice. With that disadvantage, they struggled to contain increasing Rovers pressure, and in the 94th minute, with the last kick of the game, Derek Foran rescued a point with his first goal for the club.
Derry City v Shelbourne
Derry made easy work of Shelbourne at the Brandywell tonight, as they cruised to a 4-0 win. Rory Patterson opened the scoring just after the half hour mark, which was the only goal of the first half.
In the second half however, Paul Crowley added an own goal to Derry’s lead after he accidentally turned a low cross from Rory Patterson into his own net.
In the final minutes of the game, Derry put a gloss on the score line with a third from Michael Rafter, and then Jack Memery gave a way a penalty and saw yellow for a foul on Simon Madden in added time to present Derry with a great opportunity to score their fourth, which they duly did through Mark Griffin.
Dundalk v Drogheda United
Last night’s Louth derby was a tight affair which ended 2-2, and plenty of good football on show.
Despite the freezing temperatures, both side really put on a show, with Drogheda United drawing first blood in the 32nd minute through Shane Grimes. They added to their lead in the second half through Ryan Brennan, and the game really kicked off after that.
In the space of a minute, the whole tie was turned on its head by two goals from Dundalk. Keith Ward scored in the 75th minute from a beautiful free-kick, and then less than sixty seconds later they grabbed another after Tiernan Mulvenna was brought down in the box by Alan Byrne.
John Dillon slotted home the resulting penalty, and a frantic game finished all square between the local rivals.
