Bohemians 0 Shamrock Rovers 2
Neil Farrugia and Rory Gaffney bagged goals in either half at Dalymount Park to give Shamrock Rovers bragging rights over arch rivals Bohemians in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.
Champions for the past three seasons, Rovers surprisingly came into this game 10 points adrift of Bohs in the top-light table. Five draws and just one victory from their opening seven fixtures of the campaign saw the Hoops conceding early ground in the race for the title, but this latest Dublin derby success will come as a much-needed boost for Stephen Bradley’s men.
Bohs remain at the summit of the Premier Division as a consequence of Derry City dropping points against Drogheda United but while it has been a largely positive start to the season, this result is nonetheless a setback for the Gypsies.
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While the Hoops were re-energised thanks to their an emphatic 4-0 win over Dundalk last Friday week, Bohs recorded a 1-0 triumph on the road against Sligo Rovers a day later. Indeed, it was the hosts who were the brighter side during the early exchanges with Dylan Connolly forcing a low save from evergreen Rovers netminder Alan Mannus inside the opening 60 seconds.
A subsequent pullback by Connolly created an opening for Ali Coote, but the Scottish attacker dragged his shot agonisingly past the left-hand post.
One of the most notable spectators in the sold-out Phibsborough venue was Republic of Ireland senior boss Stephen Kenny – who had previous spells as the manager of both teams. Bohs supremo Declan Devine also worked under Kenny in a coaching capacity at Dunfermline Athletic and Derry City, before succeeding the Dubliner in the latter hot seat at the end of 2011.
Devine’s current charges have stormed out of the blocks in the opening weeks of the 2023 season, but breathed a sigh of relief just past the half-hour mark when Rovers defender Seán Hoare headed against the crossbar off a Jack Byrne corner on the left wing.
This was a warning sign for Bohs, however, and the Hoops ultimately broke the deadlock in the 44th minute as wing back Farrugia floated into a central area to nod home Byrne’s perfectly-weighted delivery from close-range.
This meant the visitors brought a 1-0 cushion into the interval and, having emerged unscathed from the initial Bohs surge in the opening period, there was a sense that the southsiders were ready to push on after the resumption. The growing influence of Byrne and Graham Burke certainly pointed towards the Hoops seizing firm control of proceedings, though Mannus needed to be on his toes to keep out an Adam McDonnell free-kick on 58 minutes.
Yet Burke was just off-target from an earlier attack, while Bohs custodian James Talbot had to be at his best to turn away another Hoare header from a Byrne corner. A second Rovers goal was beginning to seem like an inevitability and it duly arrived midway through the second half.
After the Bohs defence failed to deal with the latest set-piece offering by Byrne, the impressive Gaffney squeezed home a left-footed effort at the tightest of angles to double the advantage.
This left Bohs with an uphill task inside the final quarter and they could have been staring into a three-goal deficit only for Talbot pulling off another fine stop from Rovers captain Lee Grace. Devine did attempt to inject fresh life into his side’s challenge by introducing Kris Twardek, John O’Sullivan and Dean Williams off the bench, but Rovers saw out the game with minimal fuss.
BOHEMIANS: Talbot; Horton, Nowak, Radkowski, Kirk; Buckley (McManus, 59 mins), McDonnell; Connolly (Twardek, 68 mins), Coote (Williams, 76 mins), McDaid (O’Sullivan, 68 mins); Afolabi.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Mannus; Hoare, Cleary, Grace; Farrugia, Watts (Lopes, 91 mins), Poom, Kavanagh (Clarke, 91 mins); Byrne (Ferizaj, 91 mins), Burke (Nugent, 82 mins); Gaffney (Kenny, 82 mins).
Referee: R Harvey (Dublin).
