A second-half Graham Burke hat-trick saw Shamrock Rovers defeat Sligo 3-1 at Tallaght Stadium this evening to climb to the top of the Premier Division.

Windy conditions in Tallaght made for a dull opening half with few chances for either side but four half-time changes for the Hoops proved inspired as they created far more in the second.

Burke linked up with his fellow-subs to score three times in 10 minutes to secure a vital victory as Rovers outclassed Sligo despite a late Aidan Keena consolation.

The result sees the Hoops move into first in the league following Derry's draw with St Pat's this evening.

Extremely windy conditions contributed to a poor quality first-half in Tallaght in this fixture brought forward as both sides will be involved in European action in the coming weeks.

The first chance of the game came Sligo’s way on eight minutes, Max Mata coming very close to getting on the end of a Robbie McCourt cross from the left flank only to be denied by Sean Kavanagh before  he could fire in at the far post.

For the Hoops, Jack Byrne looked to pull the strings and despite being heavily man-marked by Colm Horgan, cutting balls from the playmaker came close to sending in Neil Farrugia on 14 minutes and Aaron Greene soon after but the Sligo defence stood its ground.

At the other end Adam McDonnell had his cross from the left defended by a vital Farrugia deflection as Jordan Hamilton closed down on goal on 23 minutes.

McDonnell had a chance before half-time but he could only bend his effort well over the Hoops’ crossbar and the sides went in to break level.

Stephen Bradley’s decision last week to stay at Tallaght rather than pursue management with Lincoln in League One was seen as a big boost for Rovers and he certainly made an impact on this evening’s result through four impactful half-time substitutes.

Graham Burke, Rory Gaffney, Andy Lyons and Chris McCann entered the field of play and contributed to a far more dangerous looking Rovers side inr the second-half.

The Hoops piled the pressure on Sligo immediately, Barry Cotter and Sean Hoare coming close in the opposition box as they delivered set-pieces into the danger area, reigniting their support in doing so.

When Andy Lyons sent an excellent ball through to Jack Byrne in the no.10 position, the Rovers playmaker swiftly sent it right to the on-rushing Graham Burke who slotted it home past Bit O’Red netminder Richard Brush to open scoring on 54 minutes.

A minute later, Burke had his second after Rory Gaffney used his pace to retrieve a Hoops’ clearance far up the field. Gaffney drew the attention of the Sligo defenders and then fed it left to the unmarked Burke who finished powerfully into goal.

With the home team controlling play, they had a third  goal within 10 minutes after more work by Gaffney led to Andy Lyons laying the ball off to the left-legged Burke just outside the box. The forward sent an unstoppable strike into goal to complete his hat-trick.  

Sligo pushed late on and a powerful effort from Aidan Keena pulled one back for the visitors in the final 10 minutes but it was Shamrock Rovers the victors, setting up a tasty showdown with league rivals Derry at the weekend.