Shamrock Rovers 3
Finn Harps 0
SHAMROCK ROVERS confirmed their status as Premier Division champions amid a convincing 3-0 win over Finn Harps this evening.
“Stand up for the champions” rang out at a packed Tallaght Stadium as Stephen Bradley’s men claimed the title for the second successive season and 19th time in total.
Danny Mandroiu was the standout player on the night, as his two clinically taken goals in the first half ensured it was a relatively comfortable night against a Finn Harps side that seldom threatened or looked like taking anything from this game.
Substitute Aidomo Emakhu added a third late on, but the match had long since ended as a contest.
Before kick-off, Rovers were aiming to secure the trophy with three games to spare – Saturday’s 1-0 win over Longford leaving them on the verge of a triumph, as second-place St Pat’s trailed them by 13 points with a game in hand.
Tonight’s match was the first encounter at Tallaght since Covid restrictions have been lifted and so a full capacity of 7,500 was permitted — 7,030 was announced as the official attendance.
Rovers made four changes from last weekend’s game. Roberto Lopes, Lee Grace, Dylan Watts and Mandroiu came into the side in place of Sean Hoare, Ronan Finn, Aidomo Emakhu and Aaron Greene.
Finn Harps, meanwhile, made three alterations from Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Sligo. Karl O’Sullivan, Sean Boyd and Ethan Boyle featured in the starting XI instead of Kosovar Sadiki, Will Seymore and Babtunde Owolabi.
The Hoops had found life difficult against Ollie Horgan’s men previously — winning just one of their three Premier Division encounters this season before tonight.
The hosts began positively though and took the lead after just four minutes.
Mandroiu latched on to Sean Gannon’s defence-splitting through pass, beating the Harps defenders for pace before rounding goalkeeper Mark McGinley and slotting it into the empty net for his 11th goal of the season.
There was a scrappy spell before Rovers threatened again in the 19th minute — this time Rory Gaffney played through the lively Mandroiu, but the 23-year-old attacker could not finish clinically from a tight angle.
Moments later, Gaffney was played through, but Shane McEleney did well to block the striker’s goalbound shot.
The home side did not have to wait long to double their advantage though. In the 24th minute, a Dylan Watts cross found the head of Mandroiu, and the Dubliner made no mistake with the finish for his second of the night.
Four minutes later, some sloppy defending saw Harps concede possession in their own area, but Neil Farrugia could not beat McGinley when through on goal.
From the ensuing corner, Chris McCann’s header was saved via the goalkeeper’s legs as Rovers threatened to run rampant.
Six minutes before the break, Rovers went close again. Gaffney collected Towell’s pass, before his low shot from the edge of the area was tipped away by McGinley.
The one-way traffic continued with the 45-minute mark approaching. A long-range effort from Watts flew just wide as Harps looked badly in need of the half-time whistle that sounded shortly after.
It was a quiet start to the second half, but Rovers were denied a blatant penalty on 57 minutes, as Ryan Connolly clipped the heels of Farrugia in the area, with the referee awarding a corner despite the hosts’ protests.
Seven minutes later, Stephen Bradley’s side almost added a third. Sean Gannon broke away down the right and his low cross found Gaffney, but the attacker’s effort was cleared off the line by Ethan Boyle.
A raft of substitutions disrupted the flow of the game, but Farrugia went close with 15 minutes remaining. Making just his second start of the season after a long-term injury, the former UCD man shot narrowly wide from a tight angle after being played through by Graham Burke.
Not long after coming off the bench, Emakhu went on a powerful run and blasted an effort inches wide as Rovers looked to put the icing on the cake.
The same player did find the net four minutes later, latching on to Burke’s through pass and rounding the goalkeeper before sticking it in the net in a similar manner to Mandroiu’s opener.
From that point on, it was a relatively uneventful final few minutes, with the buoyant crowd in party mood long before the final whistle sounded and storming the pitch in ecstasy once the victory was confirmed.
Shamrock Rovers: 1. Alan Mannus 2. Sean Gannon 4. Roberto Lopes 5. Lee Grace 28. Joey O’Brien 17. Richie Towell (O’Neill 73) 26. Chris McCann 7. Dylan Watts (Burke 73 23. Neil Farrugia (Emakhu 83) 14. Danny Mandroiu (Noonan 86) 20. Rory Gaffney (Greene 73).
Subs: 25. Leon Pohls 2. Sean Hoare 8. Ronan Finn 9. Aaron Greene 10. Graham Burke 16. Gary O’Neill 29. Dylan Duffy 34. Conan Noonan 38. Aidomo Emakhu
Finn Harps: 1. Mark McGinley 5. David Webster 16. Shane McEleney 24. Ethan Boyle 3. Jordan Mustoe 14. Mark Coyle (Hawkins 46) 11. Barry McNamee 6. Ryan Connolly (S Doherty 83) 7. Karl O’Sullivan (Foley 69) 22. Ryan Rainey (Seymore 46) 9. Sean Boyd (Owolabi 61).
Subs: 17. Dan Hawkins 10. Mark Timlin 12. Luke Rudden 19. Adam Foley 21. Stephen Doherty 28. Will Seymore 31. Nathan Logue 40. Gerard Doherty 45, Babtunde Owolabi
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Donegal)
Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella, and Gavan Casey assess the provinces’ first URC blocks and look ahead to November for the Ireland men’s and women’s teams on The42 Rugby Weekly:
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud