Graham Burke and Aaron Greene from Kilnamanagh were on target for Shamrock Rovers against Drogheda on Monday.
Photos by George Kelly
Must win game for Rovers in Dalymount against Bohs
THE biggest game of the season so far is set to take place next Monday in the Airtricity League as Shamrock Rovers take the trip across the Liffey and make their way to Dalymount in Dublin’s northside.
They will be challenging their crosstown rivals Bohemians FC who sit just below them in the league table in second place.
Aside from being a Dublin derby, the circumstances of 1st vs 2nd as well as the games in hand in favour of Bohemians mean this is a must win game for Rovers if they want their title charge to truly kick off.
Everything has been going excellently for the Tallaght side in recent games.
Last Friday saw Stephen Bradley’s men totally outclass his rival Damien Duff’s Shelbourne at Tolka Park.
Rovers were dominant throughout the game and while they did concede via an own goal through Josh Honohan, they would run out 2-1 winners with Honohan himself scoring the equaliser with mere minutes left on the clock.
They would follow this up with a trip to formerly second placed Drogheda United who have provided their toughest competition so far this season.
Again, Rovers would prove themselves to be a class above their opposition with Graham Burke and Aaron Greene netting to ensure the same scoreline as Friday night. 2-1 in favour of Rovers only rubbed salt in the wound of Drogheda United who had earlier that evening been informed that they would not be a part of the UEFA Conference League after being expelled from their place by UEFA ownership rules.
Who benefitted from their misfortune? None other than their opponents that night, Shamrock Rovers who now will progress to the second qualifying round thanks to Drogheda’s misfortune.
Leading up to the match next Monday against Bohemians is a Friday game against Cork City.
Cork are winless in their last 9 fixtures yet any kind of slip up could massively derail the momentum that Rovers have established after the success of last week.
This match on Monday truly could be a title decider and if Rovers win many will claim that the season is already over.
St Pats on the other hand have stagnated over the last few weeks and now possess just a single win in their last 5 fixtures.
While admittedly this past weekend saw them play two of the tougher teams in the league they will be disappointed to come away with only a single point out of a possible six.
While there is no shame in drawing 0-0 to Drogheda United, Stephen Kenny knows they surely should have produced more when hosting a Shelbourne side at Richmond Park which had truthfully been made to look very average by Stephen Bradley and Rovers the previous Friday.
Pats delivered a poor performance and failed to take control of the game.
Conceding in the 10th minute to Ali Coote, they were unable to break down the Shels defence over the remaining 80 and find themselves still searching for their first home win since beating Cork City 3-2 on May 16th.
