Shamrock Rovers maintain 100 per cent start with Sligo win

Late goals from Aaron McEneff and Aaron Greene help Hoops past basement side

Jack Byrne opens the scoring for Shamrock Rovers in their 3-2 win over Sligo. Photograph: Evan Logan/Inpho
Jack Byrne opens the scoring for Shamrock Rovers in their 3-2 win over Sligo. Photograph: Evan Logan/Inpho

Sligo Rovers 2 Shamrock Rovers 3

Leaders Shamrock Rovers maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a 3-2 win away to bottom side Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds.

The hosts lost centre-back Teemu Penninkangas to injury on 22 minutes, and found themselves 1-0 down a minute later. Jack Byrne twisted one way and then the other inside the area, before slotting in to the corner of the net for a deserved opener.

But with Garry Buckley reverting to a defensive position, and new signing Ryan de Vries sprung for his debut from the bench, the home side pulled level by the break through a Ronan Coughlan penalty, after David Cawley had been bundled over in the box.

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Aaron McEneff and Aaron Greene both finished smartly from inside the area in the final 15 minutes however, as the Hoops made it five wins from five, despite Sligo youngster Niall Morahan claiming his first goal for the club in injury-time.

Sligo Rovers: McGinty, Morahan, McFadden, Penninkangas (de Vries 22), Cooper, Cawley, Seymore, Buckley, Noone (Murray 79), Devers, Coughlan.

Shamrock Rovers: Mannus, Grace, Lopes, Scales, Bolger (O'Neill 75), McEneff, Finn, Farrugia (Lafferty 85), Greene, Byrne, Gaffney (Watts 69).

Referee: P McLaughlin.