Shamrock Rovers 2
Derry City 0
SHAMROCK ROVERS REMAIN on course for an unbeaten season after easing to a 2-0 victory over Derry City in their penultimate game of the league campaign.
Second-half goals from Graham Burke and sub Aaron Greene made it 14 wins from 17 for the champions, who conclude their campaign away to Shelbourne on Monday night.
The scoreline doesn’t quite paint the picture of a game that more resembled a training game of attack against defence than a full-blooded league game.
The Candystripes, playing their first game back after an enforced two-week lay-off due to a Covid-19 outbreak, were dogged and well-organised but struggled to string together much in attack.
Stephen Bradley’s Hoops, playing the third of four games in nine days after their own Covid-related break, dominated possession but created little of their own before Burke broke the deadlock.
Indeed, Derry manufactured the first real opening shortly before the break when Danny Lafferty, facing his hometown club, played his side into trouble.
With goalkeeper Alan Mannus out of his goal to make the angle for a pass, Jack Malone had a brief sight of an open goal but Roberto Lopes did just enough to turn his shot behind.
An error from Conor Clifford gifted Rovers their best chance of the half soon after as Graham Burke had room to curl a shot with the outside of his boot but the post came to Derry’s rescue.
Jack Byrne picked up the rebound on the edge of the box and worked his way into space for a shot, but this time Burke proved Derry’s saviour as the goalbound shot cannoned back off the striker.
Rovers came out of the traps in the second half and could have led almost immediately, but Lee Grace headed over from Jack Byrne’s corner.
Lafferty had a big opening moments later as he was played through by a sumptuous Byrne diag but, after beating Malone, his shot rolled just wide of the far post.
Burke hit the side-netting with a daisy-cutter from distance, but he was more accurate just before the hour as he curled a free kick past Peter Cherrie from the left-hand edge of the box.
Bradley rang the changes in the final quarter and one of the new entrants, Greene, should have made it two when played by a beautiful Liam Scales pass but he toe-poked straight at Cherrie.
The Kilnamanagh man made amends in injury time as he took Aaron McEneff’s pass and breezed past Malone before firing low past Cherrie.
Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Lee Grace, Roberto Lopes 63, Liam Scales; Ronan Finn (Max Murphy 64), Aaron McEneff, Dylan Watts (Darragh Nugent 75), Danny Lafferty (Sean Kavanagh 64); Graham Burke (Aaron Greene 64), Jack Byrne, Dean Williams (Thomas Oluwa 75).
Derry City: Peter Cherrie; Darren Cole (Gerardo Bruna 46), Eoin Toal, Cameron McJannett, Ciaran Coll; Conor McCormack, Conor Clifford (Jake Dunwoody 68), Joe Thomson (Ciaron Harkin 68); Adam Hamill (Oluwaseun Akintunde 68), Jack Malone, Walter Figueira (Patrick Ferry 80).
Referee: Damien McGraith (Mayo).
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