SETANTA CUP SEMI-FINALS, FIRST LEGS: Shamrock Rovers 0 Derry City 3:AS THE players and match officials left the pitch in Tallaght last night it was clear who the bulk of the 750 in attendance blamed for their side being on the verge of a semi-final exit. Declan Devine's side, though, will have travelled home well pleased with way they seized the opportunity they were handed here and very confident, one suspects, that, after goals from Kevin Deery, Patrick McEleney and Ryan McBride, they can finish the job at the Brandywell next Monday.
After a scrappy enough start, the game turned decisively in City’s favour in the 15th minute. Referee Alan Kelly ignored an offside flag waved against Stephen McLaughlin and Mark Farren and opted instead to give the visitors a penalty for what he saw as a foul by Reyaard Pieterse against David McDaid
Several of the Rovers’ defenders actually looked to have pulled up, thinking the offside had been given and even then when Kelly reached for a card, the goalkeeper said afterwards, he thought it was to show the striker a yellow for diving. Instead Pieterse was show a red for the foul.
When Pieterse protested and insisted he had not touched McDaid, the referee pointed out that, strictly speaking, he did not need to but television replays suggested that in this case the hosts were still hard done by.
Stephen Kenny was obliged to replace Daryl Kavanagh with Oscar Jansson (who saved McDaid’s spot kick only for Deery to poke the rebound home a little fortuitously) and reorganise in midfield and attack after which the home side held their own impressively enough for a while before City, somewhat inevitably, started to gain the upper hand.
Jansson and co were a little lucky once or twice towards the end of the half to get away with things around the six yard box as McEleney and McDaid repeatedly caused problems but the Swede did very well soon after the break when McLaughlin tried to catch him off his line and the young goalkeeper got back to make a fingertip save.
When he was then well beaten by McEleney from distance a few minutes later, however, the Dubliners found themselves with a mountain to climb. However, City rather tamely surrendered the initiative for a spell over the tail end of the game, sitting back a little too much and giving the ball away far too often.
Rovers did their best to take advantage, pushing forward in search of a goal that would have done a good deal for their prospects at the Brandywell next week but the Derry defence held up well and about the closest Rovers came was when Ronan Finn and Killian Brennan combined well to send Gary Twigg clear. Ger Doherty was off his line quickly, though, and the Scot never got the chance to shoot.
Rovers, to their credit, persisted and felt they had a decent penalty claim when the ball struck Eddie McCallion on the arm but after a corner five before the end they were caught napping inside their six-yard box when McBride rose unchallenged to head home McEleney’s cross. Derry, it seems, are firmly on course for their first Setanta final.
SHAMROCK ROVERS:Pieterse; Gannon (McCormack, 60 mins), Hawkins, Gartland, Powell; Brennan, Finn, Rice, Greene (O'Neill, 75 mins); Kavanagh (Jansson, 14 mins), Twigg.
DERRY CITY:Doherty; Madden (Barr, 35 mins), McBride, McCallion, McCaffrey; P McEleney, Deery, Molloy, McLaughlin (Crossan, 82 mins); McDaid, Farren (Curran, 80 mins).
Referee:A Kelly (Cork)
