Dundalk cut Shamrock Rovers' lead as Hoban makes history

The striker became the club’s all-time leading scorer in the League of Ireland

Updated at 00.06

Dundalk 2
Shamrock Rovers 1

David Sneyd reports from Oriel Park

THIS WAS PROOF, if needed, that Dundalk are still very much the benchmark.

On a record-breaking night for Patrick Hoban, who became the club’s all-time leading scorer in the League of Ireland, the champions swatted aside the challenge of Shamrock Rovers.

The Hoops had arrived in Louth as the league leaders and while defeat here hasn’t dislodged them from the summit, make no mistake that Rovers must arrest this slump before another campaign once more turns into an ignominious descent towards obscurity.

That will be especially hard to take this year. Their fans have, after all, dared to dream of a first league title since 2011 and those early burning ambitions must not be allowed to simply flicker meekly.

A week that began with Rovers boasting a 10-point cushion over Dundalk has now been trimmed to four — Bohemians are also breathing down their necks and both they and the Lilywhites have a game in hand to reduce that margin further.

This was Dundalk’s fourth consecutive victory — no mean feat, considering they have come in the space of 11 days — while Rovers continued to suffer the effects from a Dublin derby defeat to Bohs on Tuesday night.

That much was clear by the fact 16-year-old James Furlong was making his senior debut at left back, a consequence of the two red cards dished out to defenders Trevor Clarke and Lee Grace on a dramatic evening in Tallaght.

Drama levels didn’t quite hit the same heights here, but it was no less significant, not least for Hoban, whose 40th minute header from a Michael Duffy corner etched his name into the history books.

It was his 70th league goal, a new club record, and when he was withdrawn with just under a quarter of an hour remaining, he was hailed by the majority of the 4,026 attendance for his exploits.

That pocket of Rovers fans in the corner of the Main Stand were silent, as they stayed for much of the second half once it became apparent that there was no way back for their side, although substitute Orhan Vojic did provide some hope seven minutes from time with a neat finish under the body of Gary Rogers after getting the better of Dan Cleary and latching on to Brandon Kavanagh’s pass.

It was the catalyst for a brief surge in belief for the visitors, but Dundalk regrouped quickly to extinguish that revival — one which seemed unlikely when Duffy’s goal on the hour mark appeared to have put this game to bed.

The strike capped off a fine move down the right, an area they targeted continually on a chastening evening for Furlong. The teenager was hardly helped by the lack of protection offered by Daniel Carr, the striker failing to get to grips with the defensive duties required for that role on the left wing.

The injured Sean Kavanagh would have offered more, but that can be no excuse for a club determined to finally break the stranglehold that Dundalk have on this division.

There were worrying signs of the old Rovers creeping back into play. Resilience has been a cornerstone of their early season form, matched by a new-found defensive concentration and stubbornness.

An opportunity for redemption comes on Monday when they host St Patrick’s Athletic. But it is Dundalk who have thrown down the gauntlet once more.

Dundalk: Gary Rogers; Sean Gannon, Daniel Cleary, Sean Hoare, Dane Massey; Chris Shields; Daniel Kelly (John Mountney 72’), Patrick McEleney (Dean Jarvis 90’), Jamie McGrath, Michael Duffy; Patrick Hoban (capt) (Georgie Kelly 78’).

Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Ronan Finn (capt), Roberto Lopes, Joey O’Brien, James Furlong; Dylan Watts, Aaron McEneff; Joel Coustrain (Brandon Kavanagh 63’), Jack Byrne, Dan Carr (Orhan Vojic 67’); Aaron Greene.

Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).

Attendance: 4,026

Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella are joined by Andy Dunne to get stuck into last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-finals.: