Shelbourne vs Shamrock Rovers

It was a night of late goals in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division. Aaron Greene's long-range effort a minute from time gave Shamrock Rovers a 2-1 win away ...

In the First Division, two second half goals from Phoenix Patterson helped Waterford to a 4-0 win away to Cobh Ramblers. St Pat’s meanwhile dropped two more points in the title race as they were held to a goalless draw by Dundalk at Richmond Park. Aaron Greene’s long-range effort a minute from time gave Shamrock Rovers a 2-1 win away to Shelbourne. The victory moves Rovers to within three points of leaders Derry City.

Cruel but fair result closes gap to three points behind league leaders Derry City.

Tolka was crackling as Boyd immediately won a free for Daniel Hawkins to curl to the back post. A core value of the system, so expertly employed by Bradley’s Rovers, is pressure on the ball. Towell was all action, interchanging with Jack Byrne to appear at centre forward and create Andy Lyons’s third goal of the campaign. Lyons’ neat finish came from relentless pressure as Rory Gaffney also took the ball off McEneff. Duff, gnashing his managerial teeth on the club’s social media channel, fired a warning shot at anyone who fancies another dig at one of his players. The gamble nearly paid out.

If Shamrock Rovers are to retain their title, perhaps they will look back on the final game in the first series as especially pivotal, Aaron Greene's rasper ...

Byrne had a relatively quiet night and Watts came in for the Ireland international with 18 minutes to go. Towell's dink was delicious but Lyons pulled his effort just wide, almost the fitting conclusion to a superb sequence of passes involving most of the Rovers team. At the other end, Graham Burke had Brendan Clarke momentarily worried. That concludes the first series of games and there is, it seems, a genuine title race. JR Wilson's cross was met by Dan Carr who ought to have fashioned a shot with far more power. Ruaidhri Higgins, Derry boss, was in attendance.

Shamrock Rovers' Aaron Greene celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the game. Image: Ryan Byrne/INPHO. Shelbourne FC: 1. Shamrock Rovers: 2. Darryl ...

With the second half following a similar pattern, Duff looked to his bench to freshen things up and just before the hour mark paid dividends straight away. With the Shels management team of Duff and Joey O’Brien having recent experience of working with the visitors, an intriguing tactical battle started to develop, with Rovers having the majority of the ball. Following on from a huge morale-boosting win on the road in Sligo, Damien Duff’s Shelbourne got off to the worst possible start, conceding in just the second minute of the game

Not long after he was introduced, Hoops striker Greene scored a belter in the last minute to earn all three points from a game that looked in danger of drifting ...

And just when they needed it again, Greene reprised the trick last night in front of the 800 travelling fans in the Ballybough end. Last season, it was the Hoops who were the late, late show stars with winners three times against Longford, once against St Pat’s and once against Drogheda in the final minutes. Not long after he was introduced, Hoops striker Greene scored a belter in the last minute to earn all three points from a game that looked in danger of drifting away from Rovers.