Rovers edge past St Pat’s

SHAMROCK Rovers beat St Patrick’s Athletic for the second time this season last Friday night as they managed to leave Richmond Park with a 1-0 victory, taking first place in the table in the process.

Both sides were coming into the fixture having impressed this season, though admittedly Pats were on worse form coming in having lost to Dundalk at Oriel Park the week previous.

Rovers got off the mark early on in the game with a Jack Byrne shot from outside the boxing finding its way into the back of the net thanks to a deflection off Sean Hoare within the first ten minutes.

While Pats had their chances throughout the game, Rovers maintained their defensive composure and ultimately turned in a solid performance in order to take their spot at the top of the league.

Arsenal bound Kiltipper youngster Victor Ozhianvuna in particular had an excellent performance.

Stephen Bradley touched on the game and the performance of his new star man.

“I said last year, you will see him in full flow this year if injuries allow it, and you’re starting to see it.”

“He did something against Shelbourne, he put Michael (Noonan) through one v one on Monday and it was a different level. And we’re seeing moments of that. How he can manipulate the ball in tight areas, how he twists and turns and creates overloads for us.”

“He’s 17 and he’s in the heat of battle. He’s not wide or deep where you can see everything. He’s in the heat of it. I said a few weeks ago, as the pitches get better, he will get better because it suits him. He’s a dribbler type. His understanding of the game, it’s getting better.”

“He’s always had that desire and hunger. That’s why Arsenal have gone early and heavy for him. When you mix that with technical ability and athletic attributes and you have that mentality, there’s not many who have that.”

They now face Bohemians in Tallaght Stadium this Friday evening and the derby represents an excellent chance to put some major distance between themselves and their possible title rivals already at this early stage in the season.

Bohemians had been on top for a number of weeks going undefeated for the first eight games or so of the season, including a 3-2 win over Shamrock Rovers at Dalymount, the only fixture the side from Tallaght have lost.

Their streak was brought to an end last Friday though as they were defeated 2-1 at Dalymount by Sligo Rovers.