Goalkeeper
Peter Cherrie (Bray Wanderers) – The Seagulls goalkeeper made a number of top class saves, tipping over a dipping Christy Fagan violley, to keep out Pat’s as the home side began life after Mick Cooke with a victory.
Defenders
Sean Gannon (Dundalk) – The former Shamrock Rovers full-back was excellent against his old club, bombing forward at every opportunity, and saw his shot saved by Barry Murphy after a fabulous run in the second half.
Andy Boyle (Dundalk) – Boyle dealt with the Rovers forward line in a composed manner with the help of central defensive partner Brian Gartland and he was unlucky to see his first half header whistle past the post.
Conor McDermott (Derry City) – The teenager started just his second game for the Candystripes and didn’t look out of place at left-back. He dealt with the attacking threat of both Ayman Ben Mohamed and Paddy Kavanagh and won over the home support with several crunching tackles.
Midfield
Ronan Finn (Dundalk) – Another Hoops old boy, Finn returned to Tallaght Stadium and capped a fine performance with his well-taken goal at the beginning of the second half — his sixth of the season.
Ryan Connolly (Galway United) – A brilliant midfield display from Connolly. He worked hard up and down the pitch, distribution from the middle of the park was excellent to find his wide players, and his two pinpoint free-kicks to find the head of Vinny Faherty were game-changing.
Conor McCormack (Derry City) – The Louth man produced yet another energetic performance at the heart of the Derry midfield. A real influence on the night as the home side ground out the win.
John Russell (Sligo Rovers) – The Galway man was a driving force in every Sligo attack, and he was was instrumental in the home side’s dominance as they earned a first league win of the season.
Forwards
Vinny Faherty (Galway United) – Another two goals for the Galway striker were enough for three points from Ferrycarrig Park. Got onto the end of two Connolly free-kicks to seal the win and his overall play was superb.
Steven Beattie (Cork City) – Having missed a penalty against Sligo, the striker’s fast start to life at Turner’s Cross had hit a speedbump and he was on the bench the previous week against Galway United. Bounced back well though, scoring one and assisting Karl Sheppard’s late goal to make it 3-0.
Ger Pender (Bray Wanderers) – The Bray striker was quickest off the mark to capitalise on a defensive mistake and score the winning goal against Pat’s at the Carlisle Grounds.
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