Shamrock Rovers

Goals from Ben Doherty and Jamie McGonigle secure big win on the road for Ruaidhrí Higgins's side.

Remarkably, Rovers continued to struggle as Diallo and Ollie O’Neill, on loan from Fulham, stormed the midfield exchanges. Talk of Rovers being equipped to compete on the domestic and European front proved empty rhetoric in 2022. O’Neill patched them together in the absence of five regular defenders but the prodigious Justin Ferizaj has yet to reappear this season while Rory Gaffney and Liam Burt, the new signing from Bohemians, were warming the bench for far too long. That’s right, after three matches, only UCD are below the champions while Derry go top on seven points. Really, Clarke and Burke should have taken chances to put the champions ahead before the turn. A restricted full house of 7,626 and those paying €7 for the stream witnessed the League of Ireland alpha dogs going at each other and everyone got their money’s worth.

Derry City powered to the top of the table after downing their chief title rivals Shamrock Rovers with two meaty punches to the gut.

Ryan Graydon was a handful for Sean Kavanagh down the right and was central to the Candystripes reclaiming the lead nine minutes into the second-half. On the overlap, he collected Patching’s ball and squared for McGonigle who peeled off Sean Gannon and had ample space to stick the ball past Mannus. There will be no panic around these parts, of course. And Rovers nearly took the lead six minutes before the break after a counter with Farrugia centrally involved again. Referee Neil Doyle played advantage and Markus Poom threaded a ball through to Kenny who beat Maher with a thumping angled drive high into the net. If the Candystripes are to build on their FAI Cup success and close the points gap on the Hoops from last year, they have to strike when their opponents are weak.

New Estonian signing Markus Poom started for the first time at Tallaght Stadium since joining the club during the off-season. Derry City came in with a point to ...

The ball had too much pace on it as Derry City breathed a huge sigh of relief. And his clearance was picked up by Will Patching who fed in Doherty who blasted home past Alan Mannus to give Derry a 1-0 lead. But they were forced to start the game without the presence of energetic midfielder Adam O’Reilly who missed out through injury. But Derry were in control for much of the second half and limited Shamrock Rovers to very few chances on goal. And Derry then struck to retake the lead in the 54th minute through McGonigle. Derry City came in with a point to prove after their near-miss in the Premier Division title race last season to the Hoops.

Ireland international teenager Abbie Larkin says any negative commentary around her high-profile switch from Shelbourne FC to Dublin city rivals Shamrock ...

"I think it was just the fresh start that I needed. I was definitely going to be treated well and have the best facilities there. “I didn't really pay attention to most of the stuff.

Following on from the President's Cup win over Rovers at Brandywell last month, Derry go into this one with real confidence as they look to continue the ...

If you're unlucky and didn't get your hands on a ticket for the game, fret not as the match will be streamed live on LOITV. But we have the boys who have the experience to deal with that, we know how hard it is... They'll definitely be looking to get their first win, especially at home, but to be honest they would have won their first two games only for the sending offs, but look it's two really good teams facing each other." Boylesport are offering 6/4 for a Rovers home win, 21/10 for the draw and 15/8 for an away win. Shamrock Rovers, despite their defensive issues, are 6/4 favourites to win the game with Paddy Power who value a Derry City win at Tallaght at 7/4. A record League of Ireland attendance is anticipated but there will be a reduced hospitality area available to the club due to the ongoing construction works in the Main Stand corporate areas, though the rest of the Stadium will function as normal.

After a challenging start to the season for Shamrock Rovers, Stephen Bradley is gearing up for the biggest threat to his side's domestic dominance.

I think they (referees) have got to be given freedom within how they manage the game and right now it doesn't feel like they have that, from speaking to some of them privately". Eulogising his midfielder as "the best six in the country", the Rovers boss said that "He's clever at reading the game, Gary. The winless start to the campaign has not subdued the fervent anticipation around the champions' first home fixture since lifting the league title last October. We're very comfortable with it", said the three-time league winning manager. Let's see where that takes us at the end of the year", proclaimed the former Arsenal youth player. The biggest hurdle facing the charismatic Bradley on Friday night is the aforementioned absence of his key central defenders.

In tonight's action in the Airtricity League of Ireland, Derry City lay down an early season marker with a 2-1 win over Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium, ...

Dundalk made the biggest statement of the night with a resounding 5-0 win over St Patrick's Athletic. Cork City got their first win of the season with a comfortable 4-0 victory over UCD. In tonight's action in the Airtricity League of Ireland, Derry City lay down an early season marker with a 2-1 win over Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium, as the champions search for their first win.

Goals from Ben Doherty and Jamie McGonigle sealed the hard-fought victory over the champions, who are still looking for their first win of the campaign.

The Candy Stripes defending in the second half was a lot better to secure a fantastic victory at the home of the champions. The Dubliners levelled things on 26 minutes after Johnny Kenny raced in behind the City defence to latch onto Markus Poom's pass and after a superb first touch, the Sligo man blasted home his first goal for the Hoops. City captain Patrick McEleney made a tremendous last ditch tackle inside the box, as his sliding tackle denied Burke a certain strike at goal and referee Neil Doyle rightfully waved away the home side's screams for a penalty.

Shamrock Rovers's return to Tallaght Stadium didn't bring the bounce supporters had hoped for as they lost 2-1 to Derry City in the SSE Airtricity League on ...

It goes without saying that family is more important than any game of soccer, but Higgins made sure he was there on the sideline at Tallaght Stadium at a time when it would have been absolutely understandable if he wasn't. For Derry City, it's a statement of intent, and a big response from their players in an exceptionally difficult week for manager Ruadhrí Higgins. Doyle was still getting an earful from the Tralee man over the foul, but the ball had fallen nicely for Markus Poom, who played it through for Kenny to finish. The Candystripes were back in front on 54 minutes. This was a game where they were on top in the first half, but a breakaway opener on 18 minutes changed everything. It means the Hoops now have two points from their opening three games, and sit ninth in the table, with only UCD below them.