RONAN FINN’S LATE header sent Shamrock Rovers fans wild as the Hoops claimed an unlikely point against Bohemians at Dalymount Park on Friday night.
Down to 10 men after the sending off of Gary McCabe 10 minutes from time, it looked like Rovers would face the journey back to south-west Dublin with just a slight tinge of disappointment.
However, Finn nodded home three minutes into injury time to share the spoils after a game in which neither side ever really got going.
It was, typically, a game where not losing was the number one priority for both teams but Rovers showed incredible character to snatch a draw. Whereas others would have given up when down to ten and behind, Michael O’Neill’s men never surrendered and, honestly, neither side were dominant enough to deserve the win.
On a weekend where every team in the top tier scored, that draw at Dalyer allowed both Sligo Rovers and Derry City a chance to join the champions at the top of the table, though the Bit O’Red could only draw away to Dundalk. Jason Byrne gave the Lilywhites an early lead, but central defender Gavin Peers equalised on the half hour mark for the Paul Cook’s side.
Derry, meanwhile, powered past Galway United at Terryland Park, winning 4-1 to continue their fine start to the season. Eamon Zayed opened the books on 44 minutes before James McLean doubled their lead. Though Galway’s Bobby Ryan halved the deficit after just five minutes of the second period, it wasn’t long before McLean restored Derry’s two-goal advantage with Gareth McGlynn rounding-off a big victory on the road.
1-1 was also the final score at Richmond Park thanks to yet another injury-time goal, UCD’s Graham Rusk levelling after 94 minutes to rob St Patrick’s Athletic of all three points. There has been severe drama in every league game played at Inchicore so far this season, but the inconsistency of Pete Mahon’s side already this year looks like they could be destined for a mid-table finish.
Anto Murphy had given them the lead just before half-time but Rusk fired past Gary Rogers late on to give UCD their fifth point on the road. Worryingly though, they haven’t picked up anything at Belfield yet and with a trip to Tallaght next week followed by a home game against Sligo, it doesn’t look like they’ll be adding too many more points to their tally before May.
Seagulls flying high
The final game in the Premier Division saw Bray Wanderers grab their first home win of the season against Drogheda United in the Carlisle Grounds, moving them up into fourth place in the process. Danny O’Connor and Dane Massey had given them a two-goal lead inside the opening ten minutes and, despite Darragh Hanaphy drawing one back for Mick Cooke’s side in the latter stages, the Seagulls held on comfortably to secure the points.
There was also high drama in the First Division as Monaghan United came from behind to record an impressive win against Shelbourne at Tolka Park. A brace from Sean Brennan kept Mons in touch, with the Shels goals coming from David Cassidy and Brendan McGill, but Declan Fabio O’Brien yet again proved his worth with a winner on 77 minutes, though he was then sent off in the final minute.
It gave Cork City the opportunity to move to the top of the table once more, and they made no mistake when battering Finn Harps 5-0 at home. Two goals from Stephen O’Flynn saw Limerick overcome Mervue, while Athlone beat Wexford and Waterford United fell to another defeat as Longford Town defeated them 1-0 on Saturday night.
