Shelbourne 1 Shamrock Rovers 2
Most of this report is dedicated to Shamrock Rovers’ dominance of a Shelbourne side, fresh from the First Division, and while the final score tells no lies Drumcondra almost bore witness to a wonderful smash and grab.
Damien Duff, master motivator, was denied by Rovers sub Aaron Greene silencing the rising drama with a left-foot gem.
“(Kameron Ledwidge) is a 20-year-old coming back from England, trying to rebuild his life and his career,” went the Shels gaffer last week, after the wing back was mildly criticised by a former player. Duff, gnashing his managerial teeth on the club’s social media channel, fired a warning shot at anyone who fancies another dig at one of his players.
The gamble nearly paid out. When Ledwidge screwed a lovely ball across the Rovers goal mouth for Shane Farrell to level matters on the hour mark all that came before turned to dust. That is until Greene’s 89th minute intervention.
Now known as the 3-4-2-1 derby, if Duff is constructing an honest, well-organised outfit then Stephen Bradley’s Rovers flow like water.
Same system, different stages of evolution. Take Jordan McEneff, the 21-year-old on loan from Arsenal, being easily relieved of possession by Richie Towell. Towell was out of position, tracking back to dispossess the young midfielder, but that is where he ended up in the natural movement of a group that knows exactly what they are doing.
Another example is the Rovers’ defence being unaffected by Pico Lopes’ late withdrawal as Sean Gannon filled the gap at centre half. Towell was all action, interchanging with Jack Byrne to appear at centre forward and create Andy Lyons’s third goal of the campaign.
Pressure
The Irish under-21 right back, operating down the left wing, ghosted into the box after 90 seconds to put Rovers in front. Lyons’ neat finish came from relentless pressure as Rory Gaffney also took the ball off McEneff.
McEneff need not be singled out as every Shels player, particularly holding midfielders Aodh Dervin and Mark Coyle, were harassed in possession.
The early goal knocked the stuffing out of Tolka Park and Dan Carr’s weak shot, after McEneff’s low cross on nine minutes, further eroded the atmosphere.
A core value of the system, so expertly employed by Bradley’s Rovers, is pressure on the ball. They demand relentless work from each other. Another essential trait is patience. This was almost rewarded when Ronan Finn’s delicate pass found Gannon down the right but an off-colour Byrne knocked the cut back over the crossbar.
Byrne had another sight of goal before the turn but Shels goalkeeper Brendan Clarke did well to concede a corner.
Towell repeated the earlier trick for an overlapping Lyons but the second goal refused to drop as this entire thesis was almost devoured by Farrell’s equaliser.
Suddenly time started to slip away from Rovers. Bradley reacted by replacing his most creative starters, Byrne and Graham Burke, with his most creative subs, Dylan Watts and Danny Mandroiu.
“You going back in? Come on big guy,” roared Duff after sub Sean Boyd took a knock. “We need you big guy!”
Tolka was crackling as Boyd immediately won a free for Daniel Hawkins to curl to the back post. Rovers stuttered as Hawkins had a real chance to tee-up Farrell for a Shels winner but he slipped just as Bradley unleashed the rest of his bench.
At the end Greene was allowed settle before planting the actual winner past Clarke.
A cruel but a fair result that closes the gap to three points behind league leaders Derry City.
SHELBOURNE: Clarke; O'Driscoll, Byrne, Ledwidge; Wilson, Coyle, Dervin, Kane; Farrell, McEneff; Carr. Subs: Griffen for Kane, Hawkins for McEneff (both 58), Boyd for Carr (78), Anaebonam for Farrell (87).
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Mannus; Gannon, Hoare, Grace; Finn, Towell, O'Neill, Lyons; Byrne, Burke; Gannon. Subs: Watts for Byrne (72), Mandroiu for Burke (78), Farrugia for Finn, Greene for Towell (both 83).
Referee: Damien McGrath.
