2 v 2 
St. Pat's AthVideo
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 March 2023 | 5:00 pm | LOI Men's Premier Division | 2023 |
Match Report
St Pats strike late to steal draw in Tallaght
Shamrock Rovers and St. Patricks Athletic split the points in Tallaght, Jake Mulraney producing a last-minute equalizer to punish yet another lacklustre Rovers performance.
Eoin Doyle consistently gave the Rover’s defence issues in the early stages but failed to translate his raw tenacity into goals. Around the fifteenth-minute mark, Noah Lewis produced a jinxing run into the Rovers box before putting the ball on a plate for Doyle six yards out who could only slice the ball into the North stand.
Despite their exposed defence, The Hoops took the lead in the twentieth minute, Rory Gaffney weaving his way through The Saint’s midfield, eventually laying it off to Richie Towell on the edge of the box, who slotted the ball home cooly into the bottom right corner.
Towell’s name was belted throughout the South stand after his opener but that goodwill with the home fans was wiped away quickly when in the 40th minute a Rovers handball resulted in a Pats penalty.
Up stepped Doyle who held his head despite the deafening boos throughout Tallaght and buried the ball into the bottom-right, leaving Mannus no chance.
The Hoops got off to a lively start in the second half again, Trevor Clarke going close as his lunging effort from six yards out just went over the bar.
Some trademark Jack Byrne brilliance got the homes fans back on their feet. Byrne received the ball 25 yards out, took a quick glance upwards before unleashing an incredible strike that flew into the top-right corner and left Dean Lyness rooted to the spot.
Rovers seemed to be on cruise control from that point on. Pats attack increasingly seemed more blunt, Tim Clancy bringing on Mulraney and Lonergan to replace Doyle and Carty.
Those substitutions proved to be a masterstroke, for it was Mulraney in the 90th minute who found the ball on the left side of the Rovers box and chopped in to unleash a venomous finish across Mannus’ goal.
It was a grandstand finish as Rovers leapt on the offensive again, Jack Byrne getting off a curling shot that rattled the post in added time.
The Hoops will be forced to endure a long two-week wait for redemption and will try get their first win of the season in Oriel Park at the end of March.
The Saints will be delighted to have snapped their three-game losing streak and they’ll face a struggling UCD side in two weeks time.
Timeline
| 17. Richie Towell | 20' | |
| 23. Neil Farrugia | 27' | |
| 17. Richie Towell | 40' | |
| 42' | Eoin Doyle | |
| 29. Jack Byrne | 55' | |
| Trevor Clarke Sean Kavanagh | 62' | |
| 66' | Eoin Doyle Tommy Lonergan | |
| 66' | Conor Carty Jake Mulraney | |
| 70' | 2. Noah Lewis | |
| Johnny Kenny Lee Grace | 73' | |
| 77' | Jay McGrath | |
| 80' | Noah Lewis Mark Doyle | |
| 80' | Thijs Timmermans Adam Murphy | |
| 82' | 24. Adam Murphy | |
| Rory Gaffney Sean Gannon | 84' | |
| 87' | Chris Forrester Ben McCormack | |
| 88' | 20. Jake Mulraney | |
| 2. Sean Gannon | 90+1' | |
| 90+2' | Vladislav Kreida |
Past Meetings
Ground
| Tallaght Stadium |
|---|
| Tallaght Stadium, Whitestown Way, Tallaght, Dublin 24, D24 XC9W |
Alex Cunningham
Alex is a second-year Journalism student at DCU. As well as being a soccer enthusiast, he's also an avid athletics fan, competing in the sport for over ten years.
Full-time at Tallaght. It finishes 2-2 after an absolute grand-stand finish!
Byrne hits the post!
And it's a last-gasp equalizer! Jake Mulraney picks up the ball on the left side of the box, chops onto his right foot and lashes a venomous shot across the goal.
Ben Mccorcmack comes on as Pats look to secure a last-gasp equalizer.
Gaffney goes off for Sean Gannon.
Adam Murphy and Mark Doyle come on for Pats.
Rovers still remain in the driving seat in this game and have done a good job suffocating any potential Pat's attacks.
Almost a brilliant goal for Farrugia who weaves in and out of The Saints defence, his shot blocked and out for a conrer.
Rovers begin to park the bus as Lee Grace comes on for Johnny Kenny.
Mulraney and Lonergan replace Doyle and Carty.
Clarke comes off for Sean Kavanagh.
Rovers have really grown into this game. Trevor Clarke almost makes it three as he cuts inside on his right foot, his drilled shot rattling off the post.
What a goal from Jack Byrne! He receives the ball 30 yards out, takes a glance up and then proceeds to leather it into the top-right corner! Lyness is left rooted to the spot.
Trevor Clarke misses a sitter! Joseph Redmond deflects an inbound cross, as Clarke lunges for the ball and skys it over!
Rovers off to a good start again enjoying a lot of possession in Pats final third.
A goal-line scramble nearly results in a goal for Pats but the ball's cleared eventually.
And we're back underway in Tallaght!
Half-time at Tallaght and it's all square.
One minute of added-time to be played.
And he buries it in the bottom left hand corner!
Penalty for Pats! Doyle stands over it.
Despite their lead, The Hoops' backline looks very exposed and nervy whenever Pats break.
Rover's backline gets left exposed as Doyle sprints in behind, his cross to Carty bearing too much weight.
Farrugia produces a jinxing run to lay the ball off to Kenny who has his shot blocked.
Neil Farrugia booked after Conor Carty gets the better of him and draws some shirt-pulling.
Richie Towell's name continues to be echoed throughout the South stand.
Another great chance for Doyle who hits it from the centre of the box. Mannus saves well but fumbles the ball slightly as it baubles off his head and is then cleared by Dan Cleary.
Goal! Richie Towell receives the ball from Gaffney on the edge of the box and slots it home calmly into the bottom right-hand corner.
A brilliant free-kick in from Jack Byrne finds Johnny Kenny who just can't get enough contact on the ball to direct it towards goal.
Noah Lewis did a great job of getting that cross in for Doyle, weaving down the right-hand side and giving Sean Hoare hell in the process.
An absolutely brilliant chance for Eoin Doyle who receives the ball six yards out but catches it poorly and it goes out for a Rovers goal kick.
The ball falls nicely to Timmermans outisde of the box but drastically overhits it and sends the ball spiralling into the North stand.
It's been a lively start for Rovers, really using their width to their advantage. However their problems this season have revolved around their defensive frailties and inability to see out games rather than their goalscoring.
Dean Lyness punches away a dangerous corner from Rovers.
Trevor Clarke is finding some joy on the left wing early on, whips in a cross that goes slightly awry of Rory Gaffney's head.
And we're off in Tallaght!
Nice tribute before kick-off to commemorate the passing of Aaron Greene's mother, Carmel.
Pico Lopes speaking to the Irish Times: “I think playing St Pat’s is always a dangerous game. It’s a Dublin derby, one the fans are really up for. Maybe St Patrick’s Day spice adds a bit more to it. It’s always a difficult game against Pat’s as they have players who can hurt you. If you’re not up for the game, up for the battle, they will punish you. I’ve never had an easy game against Pat’s and I don’t expect one.”
Just over half an hour before kick-off and Tallaght's starting to fill up. It's expected to be a full house with tickets completely sold out.
Pressure mounts on Saints manager Tim Clancy, his side on a three-game losing skid. If there's ever been a good time to travel to Tallaght in the last three years, it's now. Clancy on Rovers recent form: "They haven’t become a bad team overnight. Stephen’s won three league titles and he’s ended a thirty-year wait for an FAI cup… they’ve had a slow start to the season but they’ve got a lot of threats in the squad, a lot of quality… we’ve put a gameplan together to hopefully capitalize on areas where we think we might hurt them.”
Pressure mounts on Saints manager Tim Clancy, his side on a three-game losing skid. If there's ever been a good time to travel to Tallaght in the last three years, it's now. Clancy on Rovers recent form: "They haven’t become a bad team overnight. Stephen’s won three league titles and he’s ended a thirty-year wait for an FAI cup… they’ve had a slow start to the season but they’ve got a lot of threats in the squad, a lot of quality… we’ve put a gameplan together to hopefully capitalize on areas where we think we might hurt them.”
Bradley on Pats: “When you look back at their games against Bohs and Sligo, they will feel that they should have gotten something out of those games, they had plenty of attacking threats there. They were well beaten by Dundalk but in the other two, they will feel that they created enough to get a point out of each.”
Rovers manager Stephen Bradley on his team\\\'s draw to Shels: \\\"We created our opportunities while restricting them to six or seven touches in our box…We didn’t capitalize on what was good in the performance… A lot of the performance was good, we take that, and move on.” The wait for the first three points of the season continues here.
Plenty of rotation for Pats on the other hand. Dean Lyness replaces David Odumosu in nets, while Noah Lewis, Eoin Doyle, Conor Carty, and Thjis Timmerman all start.
Just the one change for Rovers from their stalemate at Tolka. Trevor Clarke replaces Sean Kavanagh at full-back.
Evening folks and welcome along to tonight's match report of Shamrock Rovers vs St Patricks Athletic here in Tallaght. Both sides have had a poor start to the season, languishing in eighth and ninth place respectively. A win in a Dublin Derby could really set spirits high heading into the international break. A loss on the other hand...