St Patrick’s Athletic 0 Shamrock Rovers 2
The second ball remains the most precious commodity in football. St Patrick’s Athletic looked destined to deny the champions all three points until Trevor Clarke gave his mother club Bristol Rovers a reminder of what they are missing this season with a thunderous goal. John-Alan McGrath had cleared over halfway where Clark skilfully skipped past two St Pat’s men before letting fly from 25 yards straight into the top corner.
Two-nil with 20 minutes to run, and the Inchicore pubs began to swell with 5,011 thirsty souls.
The result sees Shamrock Rovers climb to third in the Premier Division, a point behind Derry City and six adrift of pacesetters Bohemians. Shelbourne’s draw with Dundalk ensures that four of the top five positions are filled by the Dublin clubs.
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Glasgow Celtic will probably be happier to see Johnny Kenny thrive against St Pat’s giant centre half Noah Lewis than his third strike of the campaign. The teenager, also on loan to Rovers until November, was only denied a second by Dean Lyness’s excellence in the St Pat’s goal.
Kenny opened the scoring on 20 minutes after a lovely ball by Lee Grace offered the Ireland under-21 striker a chance to spin and finish to the bottom corner. A one-touch special, it was the game in microcosm; James McClelland lost possession in Rovers’ half before the champions picked them apart, rapidly and without fuss.
Tim Clancy has stitched a decent St Pat’s squad together since a complete turnover in personnel since 2021, with mainstay Chris Forrester making his 300th appearance, but Rovers are learning from the superior European opposition they have faced in recent times (only this week Gent were knocked out of the European Conference League by a superb Declan Rice goal.)
Graham Burke and Jack Byrne offer a wealth of creativity, but Rovers operate as a single unit, sending nine men into the Pat’s box for corners and dropping 11 bodies back to face Jake Mulraney’s curling free kicks. Clarke and Gary O’Neill epitomise the collective work ethic, sprinting from protective midfield slots to support Kenny while Burke and Neil Farrugia ruined any chance of Anto Breslin getting up the left flank.
This left Mulraney isolated, which meant Eoin Doyle was living off scraps and Pico Lopes, Daniel Cleary and Grace were in no mood to share. Forrester did flash a header wide of Alan Mannus’s far post but Rovers looked in cruise control at half-time.
They deserve enormous credit for sucking the life out of the night’s entertainment. By no means a classic, it was a classic O’Neill performance, with the veteran midfielder quick to take a yellow card when Mulraney threatened in transition.
The best chances to equalise fell to Jamie Lennon but he zipped both shots wide, the second miss being instantly punished by Clarke’s bullet.
Another thumping raid down the right by Farrugia should have made it 3-0 but, once again, Lyness denied Burke before Kenny scuffed wide from two yards.
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Lyness; Curtis, Lewis, McGrath, Breslin; McClelland (Carty, 72), Murphy (Timmermans, 73), Lennon, Forrester, Mulraney (Sjoberg, 86); E Doyle (M Doyle, 72).
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Mannus; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Farrugia, O’Neill (Nugent, 90), Poom, Clarke (Finn, 80); Burke (Towell, 90), Byrne (Noonan, 90); Kenny (Greene, 80).
Referee: Rob Hennessy.
