THERE WAS NEVER going to be much between them both, but Shamrock Rovers got the first blow in against Sligo Rovers thanks to an early goal from Gary McCabe which settled a hot-headed encounter at the Showgrounds on Saturday evening.
The former Bit O’Red midfielder latched onto a rebounded effort after Brendan Clarke could only parry Gary O’Neill’s original strike with just six minutes on the clock.
What ensued was a fiery 84 minutes, with eight different players receiving yellow cards from referee Derek Tomney. Sligo did put the Hoops under some severe pressure, but in the end Michael O’Neill’s side are the ones with their 100% record still intact.
Gypsy joy
While the table means for very little so early in the year, Bohemians moved to the top on goal difference with a second consecutive win at home to Drogheda United at Dalymount Park on Friday night. Anto Flood bagged the decisive winner on the hour for Pat Fenlon’s side, who dominated for long spells against a Drogheda side that have shown glimpses of positivity, though it’s still going to be a struggle for them to stay away from the lower echelons of the division.
Six teams are all tied on three points now, with only Drogs and Galway United yet to get off the mark. The latter were unlucky not to get a draw from Oriel Park however, as they were edged out on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller.
Sean Connor’s side drew level twice against Dundalk, thanks to goals from Joseph Yoffe and Sean Kelly, after new-signings Mark Quigley and Jason Byrne had given the home team the lead. Tipped to score plenty of goals a fortnight ago, Dundalk were eventually thankful for Shane Guthrie’s winner three minutes before the end as he headed past Greg Fleming.
Bray Wanderers, meanwhile, dealt St Patrick’s Athletic a shock at Richmond Park in another classic 3-2 encounter.
An own goal from Derek Prendergast and a strike from Evan McMillan had Pete Mahon’s outfit two goals to the good, and apparently coasting towards the top of the table. Instead, the Seagulls came flying back and a brace from Conor Murphy had them level before Joe Kendrick grabbed the winner eight minutes from time with a free-kick which deflected into the net.
The other Premier Division game saw UCD suffer defeat at the hands of Derry City as Gareth McGlynn opened the scoring for the Candystripes before Daniel Lafferty guaranteed their first points of the season with a tidy finish in the dying embers.
Roddy returns
In the First Division, Roddy Collins got his tenure at Gortakeegan off to a winning start when Monaghan United opened their season with a win against Waterford United, the goals coming from Alan Byrne and John Reilly either side of the break. For Waterford the defeat means they’ll remain with just a single point heading into the fourth series of games as they have a week off next Friday, and Stephen Henderson certainly won’t be happy to find his team up to six points adrift of the top, depending on Friday night’s results.
As expected, Limerick temporarily moved to the top of the division on goal difference with a consummately easy win over Salthill Devon at Jackman Park, Shane Tracy opened the scoring inside a minute before adding a second, while Peter Hynes rounded off a straightforward win in the second period.
They face Cork City next week, who were held to a 1-1 draw away to Mervue United in awful conditions at the league’s newest ground in Fahy’s Field.
There was also a win for Longford Town away to Wexford Youths, while Finn Harps’ visit to Athlone was postponed on Saturday morning due to a waterlogged pitch and Shelbourne had a week off.
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