Full-time in Tolka. A real high-quality affair that Shels looked to have won at the death for it not for the fourth assistant flagging Noelle Murray's goal as offside.

Drama late on in Tolka! Murray taps in a spilled shot from Budden but the fourth assistant raises his flag and the goal's disallowed.

Rachel Graham replaced by Jenaya Robertson.

Thompson gets TG4's player of the match award.

A header from Slattery eeks just wide of the left post!

Lauren Kelly on for Alannah McEvoy.

And Shels continue to push the pace, a corner from Alex Kavanagh veering wide.

Shels have got the momentum on their side now and are playing with confidence, Kavanagh producing a scorching shot from thirty yards out that almost beat Budden.

Stapleton heads home from a corner! Her third goal from a corner in just two games!

Ruvimbo Mucherra and Jemma Quinn on for Hamric and Siobhan Kileen.

Thompson muscles her way into the box and fires a shot across the goal, Maguire saving

Áine O'Gorman scores! Thomspon darts down the left and squares it to O'Gorman in the centre of the box who pokes it in.

Kavanagh tries to dink the ball over Budden's head from eight yards out but gets her foot under the ball too much and misses the target.

Noelle Murray brought down 25 yards out. The resulting free-kick is placed in a dangerous position.

And we're back underway!

Vera Pauw on Shamrock Rover's return to the LOIW: "The facilities are fantastic, the women are completely integrated with the men, hopefully it's a way forward for other clubs."

And it's half-time in Tolka, no goals as of yet but it's been an enthralling watch seeing arguably the two best teams in the country go toe-to-toe.

Vera Pauw is up in the stands of Tolka, weighing up any potential changes to her World Cup panel.

Thompson again fires off a shot from outside of the box, Maguire saving comfortably.

Maguire pushes a Thompson shot over the bar. Rovers corner.

A last-ditch tackle from Rachel Graham stops Thompson who was winding up for a shot at point-blank range.

Smyth Lynch almost scores a beauty, catching the ball on the edge of the box and producing a fantastic roulette to beat Jessica Gargan, her shot just fizzing over the bar.

Abbie Larkin shifts onto her left foot 10 yards out but fires wide of Maguire's goal.

Fouls keep on flying around in Tolka, referee Alan Carey still yet to reach into his pocket.

Kayla Hamric with a slightly over-ambitious effort from 40 yards out, her attempted lob lacking the power or the accuracy to challenge Budden.

Megan Smyth-Lynch wriggles her way to the byline and fires in a squared ball that hits off the post, nearly sneaking into the goal.

A scramble from a corner sees Noelle Murray get a shot from twelve yards out and it draws an excellent save from Budden!

Thompson really asserting her influence on the game, running the left-hand channels and winning a corner for her side.

Thompson cuts in from the left and flashes a shot that just veers wide.

It's been a firey start to the game, tackles a plenty and it's slightly surprising no player's been booked as of yet.

Keeva Keenan misses a sitter! Alannah Buden gets down to save a dangerous shot from Alex Kavanagh and paws the ball right into the path of Keenan who fires well over the bar.

Thompson whips in a corner that finds the head of Jessica Hennesy but heads straight into the hands of Courtney Maguire.

Things are now underway in Tolka!

Jessie Stapleton starts for Shels. She comes off a set-piece brace in a 2-0 win over Bohs in Dalymount and will hope there'll be plenty more corners to benefit from this afternoon.

Rovers' hat-trick hero Jaimie Thompson starts this afternoon. Thompson was initially on the bench for that 6-0 win over Treaty before she came on in the second half to grab her first three goals in senior football. For O'Neill, the fact that Thompson was initially benched is emblematic of the team's strength in depth. "It shows the squad that we have, that we take somebody like Abbie Larkin off at half-time and you put someone like Jamie Thompson on and she’s able to score a hat-trick. There’s great competition there for places within the squad and that’s the way we like it, because then each player is having to push themselves and be the extra bit better to try and get into that starting line-up.”

Hoops manager Collie O'Neill relishes the oppurtunity to battle it out with the league's best: "“Of course we are. It’s not just the best in the league, we’re constantly trying to raise standards so that’s why we look to play against the Shamrock Rovers boys teams, because they play at a much quicker and faster tempo than the girls are used to. That’s the level that we want to try and live at constantly so when you come to these games, like playing the champions in their own ground, those kind of training matches pay off. You can live at a good tempo, try and push yourself on and set a whole new standard for the league. We’re all looking forward to it, it’s a great challenge and these are the kind of games that you really look forward to playing.”

Shels have looked comfortable in their opening two fixtures, scoring eight and yet to concede any. They'll be familiar with a lot of the players in the Rovers line-up, five having made the switch from Tolka to Tallaght this summer. Alex Kavanagh insists there's no bad blood between the Shels squad and the recent departures: “Obviously it was a little bit of a shock, but you have to get on with it,” she said. "There is no bitterness or anything like that… That's football, you can't sit around and wait. Players come, players go. That's what makes it interesting...There has been a lot of stuff on social media, but a few of us have spoken to the girls. You have to do what makes you happy in football, and maybe that was the best decision for them. Once you are happy and enjoying football, that's the main thing.”

Welcome along to this afternoon's LOIW match report of Shelbourne FC vs Shamrock Rovers. The two sides sit on top of the table, Shels ahead by a single goal. The clash may very well act as a precursor of what's to come this season, will the reigning champs Shels have their way again this campaign or will the new kids on the block (Rovers) have something to say?