Fagan picks Bohs’ pockets
A LITTLE BIT of mid-season rustiness was evident when St Pat’s resumed their league campaign in Friday night’s Dublin derby against Bohs but the Saints came away with all three points thanks to a late brace from Christy Fagan.
With Danny North banging them in for Sligo since his move out west, Fagan’s form as Pat’s main goal threat has come under the spotlight. Friday’s double took him to seven in the league this season — eight if you count the one against Monaghan which has since been stricken from the record — and the manner in which they came may give him a timely confidence boost.
One of the main criticisms levelled at Pat’s before the break was their tendency to draw games they should have won. An on-form Fagan would go a long way towards solving that problem.
Rovers leaking goals
Time and again this season, Shamrock Rovers have been their own worst enemy and the Hoops were lucky to get out of Tolka Park with a win after twice shooting themselves in the foot defensively.
Shelbourne’s opening goal followed a flapped clearance by goalkeeper Oscar Jansson, not for the first time this season. As the Rovers defence stood around looking at each other, Paul Byrne stepped up to put a toe on it. Shels’ second was worse, if that’s even possible, as Philly Hughes tip-toed his way through four half-hearted tackles before finishing.
Between Jansson and Reyaad Pieterse, Rovers’ goalkeeping problems are well publicised at this stage and it’s no surprise to see Dundalk’s Peter Cherrie linked with a move to Tallaght when the July window opens. But the Hoops are also lacking a commanding presence in the heart of their defence, not helped by the fact that Craig Sives has seemed out of sorts for a while now.
Marching orders
The weekly debate about refereeing resumed without delay as Declan Devine and Derry City took exception to Dave McKeon’s decision to send off Stewart Greacen during the second half of their 2-2 draw against Cork.
The Candystripes were 2-0 up with a hour played when the big Scot caught Tadhg Purcell on the half-way line. A second yellow was harsh, though as the panel on RTÉ’s MNS pointed out last night, McKeon may have been atoning — subconsciously or otherwise — for his failure to show Greacen a straight red for a wild lunge in the first half.
There was little difference between Greacen’s first challenge and the one which earned Shelbourne’s Anto Murphy red from Tom Connolly in Tolka Park the night before. All season referees have been clamping down on two-footed tackles so in the name of consistency, if McKeon did get a decision wrong, maybe it was the first one.
Another Bohs stunner
Daniel Joyce became the latest entrant in the mini goal of the season competition that Bohs seem to be having among themselves, curling a beautiful effort past Pat’s keeper Brendan Clarke from all of 25 yards on Friday night.
The Phibsboro club haven’t scored a huge amount — they drew a complete blank in the first five games of the season and even now only Dundalk (10) have less than their 11 — but they’ve more than their fair share of wonderstrikes. It raises an interesting question about their play going forward, whether they are able to properly engineer clear-cut chances close to goal and whether their forwards are clinical enough when they come.
Euro vision
Unfortunately there’s no such thing as an “easy” draw for Irish teams in Europe but the gods of chance certainly seem to have done everything in their power when the balls came out of the bowl in Nyon yesterday.
Lithuanian champs FK Ekranas were the lowest of the seeded sides which Shamrock Rovers could have drawn in the Champions League second qualifying round. What once seemed an impossible dream when Basel and Salzburg were in the mix now appears to have tilted slightly back towards Rovers, though they will need to improve on their league showings to have any chance.
In the Europa League first round, St Pat’s were drawn against the same Icelandic side they beat last season, IBV Vestmannaeyjar, while Bohs were handed an even easier task against a side from the Icelandic second tier, Thor Akureyri.
Sligo Rovers were the least fortunate of the lot, pulling Slovak outfit Spartak Trnava in the second qualifying round. Still, with some solid performances and a few breaks, it could be the start of another successful summer in Europe.
