Soccer

Derry City remain top as Shamrock Rovers rescue point in eight-goal thriller with Cork City

Airtricity League round-up: Bohemians get back to winning ways against Drogheda; Dundalk and Sligo Rovers also record wins

Derry City's Jordon McEneff shoots to score his side’s first goal of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match against UCD at UCD Bowl. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Derry City's Jordon McEneff shoots to score his side’s first goal of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match against UCD at UCD Bowl. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Mon Mar 06 2023 - 22:19

UCD 0 Derry City 4

Jordan McEneff scored two well-taken first-half goals as Derry City maintained their leadership of the Premier Division table with a comfortable victory at the UCD Bowl.

Following on from their win at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night, the result was all the more pleasing for the Foylesiders on hearing that Shamrock Rovers drew a rollercoaster game at home to Cork City, stretching the gap between them and the champions, who remain second bottom, to seven points.

Two 4-0 defeats on the bounce leaves UCD languishing at the foot of the table with just one point from their four games.

Assistant manager Alan Reynolds took charge of Derry on the night as Ruaidhrí Higgins attended the funeral of his older brother, who died in Sweden last month.

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With four changes from their win in Dublin 24 on Friday, Derry were ahead from their first incisive attack of the game on 15 minutes.

[ Premier Division table ]

McEneff proved architect and executioner as he initially sent Ryan Graydon in behind down the left with a perfectly weighted pass.

Though the winger’s shot was parried away by the legs of Lorcan Healy, the loose ball ran to McEneff, who showed admirable composure to cut inside a defender before confidently curling a right-foot shot to the top corner.

Content to sit on their lead and with UCD struggling to create anything going forward, the game descended into a lull until four minutes before the interval when McEneff reignited it with another superbly contrived and finished goal.

Ronan Boyce and Brandon Kavanagh combined on the right for the latter to thread a delightful ball through for the run of McEneff.

The 22-year-old once again showed excellent poise to race through, tap the ball one side of Healy, run round the opposite side and slide it into the unguarded net for his fourth goal of the season.

UCD finally worked Brian Maher in the Derry goal for the first time two minutes after the resumption.

Skipper Jack Keaney got his head on the end of a floated free-kick from Ciarán Behan which the Candystripes goalkeeper did well to hold low down.

Over that scare, Derry sealed their win on 65 minutes when punishing a goalkeeping howler.

On the pitch just a minute, substitute Ollie O’Neill outran Donal Higgins on to Doherty’s ball down the left.

Healy looked set to gather but took his eye off the ball and fumbled it into the path of O’Neill who cut across and tapped into the net for the Fulham loanee’s first goal for the club.

Will Patching may claim Derry’s fourth goal on 75 minutes, his free-kick taking an initial deflection off the defensive wall and then a nick off Evan Osam to trickle into the far corner for what must go down and an own goal.

UCD: Healy; Barry, O’Brien (Osam, 67), Keaney, Dempsey (Wells, 67); Dignam, Higgins, Keane (Izekor, 72), Norris (O’Connor, 81); Behan; Nolan (Kinsella-Bishop, 72).

DERRY CITY: Maher; Boyce, S McEleney, Connolly (Coll, 70), Doherty; Patching (McLaughlin, 78), Diallo; B Kavanagh (O’Neill, 64), McEneff, Graydon (Ward, 70); C. Kavanagh (McGonigle, 64).

Referee: David Dunne (Dublin).

Shamrock Rovers 4 Cork City 4

Seán Hoare came to the rescue of Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium as the defending champions shared the spoils with Cork City at the end of an extraordinary eight-goal thriller.

While the visitors fell behind to a 13th-minute goal from Rory Gaffney, City were back on level terms when Ruairí Keating fired to the net off a Cian Bargary delivery.

It got even better for the Leesiders on 38 minutes as Darragh Crowley sensationally chipped Alan Mannus from all of 40 yards out.

Rovers equalised shortly after the resumption courtesy of Lee Grace’s finish from a Jack Byrne corner, but Cork swiftly restored their one-goal lead on 58 minutes with a low strike to the net by substitute Kevin Čustović off a set-piece move.

City were in sight of a major scalp when Crowley bagged a second goal on 69 minutes, but Simon Power subsequently reduced the Rovers deficit in a frantic final-quarter.

There was a long hold-up late on due to an injury sustained by Cork midfielder Aaron Bolger and with seven minutes of stoppage-time already played, Hoare’s looping header to the net secured a hard-earned point for the Hoops.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Mannus; Cleary, O’Neill (Hoare, 72 mins), Grace; Nugent (Farrugia, 46 mins), Watts (Towell, 72 mins), Poom (Burke, 57 mins), Clarke; Byrne, Kenny (Power, 64 mins); Gaffney.

CORK CITY: Corcoran; Walker (Čustović, 38 mins), Coleman, Gilchrist, Honohan; Healy, Bolger (Hakkinen, 93 mins); Bargary, Crowley, Krezic (Varian, 64 mins); Keating.

Referee: R Harvey (Dublin).

Bohemians 3 Drogheda United 1

Bohemians set themselves up nicely for Friday night’s big Dublin clash away to St Patrick’s Athletic with James Akintunde’s strike seven minutes after the restart providing the home side with enough of a cushion to see out the game.

United, who finished the game with five teenagers on the field, felt aggrieved with one or two decisions near the end, particularly when their young on-loan striker Freddie Draper looked to have his legs taken from under him with a few moments to go.

Nonetheless they won’t have too many complaints about the overall result as Bohemians returned to winning ways before a crowd of just over 4,000.

United, who had gone into the game unbeaten, had been put on the back foot early on as Bohemians forced four early corners.

And the Gypsies eventually made the breakthrough on nine minutes when Akintunde won a free just outside the box.

And up stepped Jordan Flores to beat the goalkeeper with a wonderfully struck left-footed free-kick.

However, Drogheda were back on level terms on 16 minutes when Draper managed to trickle the ball past the Bohemians goalkeeper James Talbot following a defensive slip-up at the back.

But with Akintunde growing more influential as the game wore on, Bohs got back on top. And while a number of chances through Johnny Afolabi went unconverted, there perseverance eventually paid off when Ali Coote let fly from the edge of the box with six minutes to go in the half

And Bohemians were to stretch their lead when following a break down the right from the impressive Declan McDaid, Coote sold a clever dummy to set up Akintudne who beat the Drogheda goalkeeper with a low finish into the bottom corner.

BOHEMIANS: Talbot, Radkowski, Nowak, Flores, Benn (Horton, 71), Buckley (McDonnell, 71) McManus, Coote, Akintunde, McDaid (Williams, 82), Afolabi.

DROGHEDA UNITED: McCabe, Weir, Adegboyega, Keeley, Rooney (Leddy, 69), Brennan (Grimes, 57) Deegan, Markey (Heeney, 76), Ahui, Draper, Foley (Davis, 76).

Referee: Ray Matthews.

Dundalk 2 Shelbourne 1

Andy Boyle got his birthday celebrations going early with the winning goal as Dundalk came from behind to beat Shelbourne at Oriel Park.

The one-time Republic of Ireland cap rose highest to head in a 69th-minute winner against his old club to ensure he will wake up for his 32nd birthday on Tuesday with a smile on his face.

Damien Duff’s visitors had threatened to spoil the party after taking the lead on 15 minutes. Darragh Leahy failed to deal with Cameron Ledwidge’s long punt forward and John Ross Wilson was on hand to take advantage by stealing in behind the Dundalk defence before rounding Nathan Shepperd to slot home.

The Louth men were fortunate not to be further ahead at half-time but fought back to level three minutes after the restart when Rayhann Tulloch made it two goals in two matches following his loan move from West Brom. Andrew Quinn did well to cut out a pass aimed at slipping Cameron Elliott in but the loose ball was picked up on by Leahy whose cross was headed in at close range by Tulloch.

After Patrick Hoban had an effort touched over by Conor Kearns, Dundalk found the lead goal on 69 minutes with Boyle rising highest to head home Connor Malley’s pinpoint delivery.

DUNDALK: Shepperd; Davies, Williams, Boyle; Leahy; Sloggett, Ward (O’Kane, 60), Malley (Lewis, 79); Martin (Hoban, 60), Elliott, Tulloch (Muller, 86).

SHELBOURNE: Kearns, JR Wilson, Quinn, Barrett, Ledwidge, T Wilson; Molloy, Moylan (Robinson, 73), Caffrey (Farrell, 73), Lunney (McManus, 60); Leavy (Smith, 64).

Referee: Damien MacGraith (Mayo).

Sligo Rovers 2 St Patrick’s Athletic 1

A miserable four days for St Pat’s ended with a 2-1 defeat to 10-man Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds.

Looking for a positive response to Friday’s 5-0 humbling at Dundalk, the Saints instead failed to capitalise on the early sending-off of Rovers defender John Mahon, as the hosts claimed victory with goals from Reece Hutchinson and Fabrice Hartmann.

Chris Forrester did manage a superb second-half goal for Tim Clancy’s side, but the defeat leaves them in eighth and already six points off Derry City after just four games.

Mahon was shown a straight red card on his first start since returning to the club after he took down Tommy Lonergan after just 21 minutes.

But full back Hutchinson found space in the Pat’s defence to work a neat one-two with Will Fitzgerald 10 minutes later, before firing home his first goal for Rovers.

St Pat’s were right back in it when Forrester rattled home a brilliant equaliser from the edge of the box just after the hour-mark.

But five minutes later, German midfielder Hartmann was alert to Johan Brannefalk’s quick free-kick, and he cut inside before firing to the net to earn his side their second win of the season.

SLIGO ROVERS: McNicholas, Brannefalk, Mahon, Pijnaker, Hutchinson, Hartmann (O’Sullivan, 81), Bolger (Clancy, 57), Morahan (Barlow, 68), Radosavievic, Fitzgerald, Mata.

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Odumosu, Curtis (Mulraney, h-t), Redmond, Grivosti, Breslin, McGrath, Timmermans (Forrester, h-t), Lennon, McCormack, Lonergan (M Doyle, 59), E Doyle (Carty, 80).

Referee: R Hennessy.