Shamrock Rovers 1
Bohemians 1
GARETH MCCAFFREY’S FIRST goal for Shamrock Rovers earned them a vital point in the chase for a European spot today in Tallaght Stadium as they drew 1-1 with Dublin rivals Bohemians.
Damien Duff made his full home league debut for the Hoops and Stephen McPhail started for the first time since June, while Bohs had to do without both Roberto Lopes and Derek Prendergast.
Having won just one of the last 10 league games against their Dublin rivals before today, and after disappointing results against Sligo and Dundalk, Rovers should have been ahead after 22 minutes.
Brandon Miele and McCaffrey combined to tee up the striker, but he shot wide from eight yards, to the delight of the visiting fans.
The Gypsies had rarely threatened before that, but when Buckley’s pass from midfield sparked confusion between Barry Murphy and Luke Byrne on the edge of the box, Isamahil Akinade’s presence saw the ball eventually cross the goal line.
On further inspection it was in fact Akinade who got the last touch, with Byrne kicking the ball off Murphy and it rebounding off the striker.
Before the interval Drennan had another chance, but he was foiled by Dean Delaney, and the visiting goalkeeper had to be alert again in the first minute of the second half when McCaffrey’s header had him scrambling across his line.
The youngster, making just his second league start, impressed leading from the front, and when he drifted across the edge of the box on 52 minutes, he found the bottom corner with a cool left-footed strike.
Bohemians struggled to create much from play in the final half an hour, but Lorcan Fitzgerald’s set-pieces did cause problems for the Rovers defence.
Meanwhile, Pat Fenlon’s men did the majority of the attacking after the equaliser, and Drennan had a great chance right at the end, but Delaney remained strong to save at the near post.
Shamrock Rovers: Murphy, Madden, Webster, Blanchard, Byrne, Cregg, McPhail, Miele, Duff (Waters, 72), Drennan, McCaffrey (G Brennan, 85).
Bohemians: Delaney, Hayes, Fitzgerald, Best, Murphy (Creevy, 72), Buckley, Kavanagh, Mulcahy, Evans (Moore, 65), Akinade, Wearren (Byrne, 85).
