3 v 2 
St. Pat's AthVideo
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2023 | 8:00 pm | LOI Men's Premier Division | 2023 |
Match Report
St. Patrick’s Athletic’s seven-year wait for a win in Tallaght continues, Shamrock Rovers seeing The Saints out 3-2 in an all-out thriller as The Hoops continue to bolster their lead at the top of the table. The new league leaders flattered to deceive in the opening half hour, enjoying the majority of possession and chaining together some nice passing moves but struggled to gain a clear sight of goal. Pats proved to be the more dangerous side, Mark Doyle and Jason McClelland bearing the fruits of the space left on the wings by Rovers’ on-rushing full-backs. Pico Lopes was forced to make a last-ditch tackle when Chris Forrester threaded a tidy pass through to the feet of McClelland on the right side of the box, Lopes throwing his body at the ball just as the winger pulled the trigger. Despite those heroics Lopes was holding his head in his hands minutes later. In the 29th minute Mark Doyle took the ball on the half-turn on the edge of Rovers’ box, producing a tame enough effort that looked to be arcing wide. Yet it was Lopes’ outstretched leg that re-directed Doyle’s effort goal-bound, Leon Pohls left completely flat-footed as the ball trickled in off his left post and into the back of the net. Rovers continued to fail in breaking down a compact Pats defence, their attacking missteps exemplified when Ronan Finn switched the ball over to Neil Farrugia down the left wing. What normally may have resulted in Farrugia penetrating through on goal or delivering a dangerous cross instead saw the wing-back turn and pass back all the way to Gary O’Neill. However, The Hoops’ experience as three-time reigning champions stood to them as they drew level on the brink of half-time, likely against the run of play. Jack Byrne lofted in a cross to the back post where Lee Grace was able to outmuscle Sam Curtis and head home to make it 1-1. The early moments of the second half saw the game come to a slight stand-still, the battles increasingly being fought in the midfield with neither side able to fashion any sizeable opportunities. That lull in play was broken in the 69th minute, Ronan Finn breaking down the right flank and lofting a deadly cross onto The Saints’ back post, Richie Towell producing a diving header from six yards out to make it 2-1. Second-half substitute Serge Atakayi failed to seize on a potential howler from Lee Grace, Atakayi jostling Grace and drawing a meek back pass from the center-half, Atkayi drawing in on goal but only able to produce a feeble effort right of Pohls’ post. The Saints’ leveller came minutes later, Sam Curtis rifling a shot from outside of the box that forced Pohls into a diving safe, the ball falling to Ben McCormack who slotted the rebound home to draw the match level. The goal set up a heart-in-throat finish and the action didn’t subside until the bitter end. Jack Byrne shot across the Pats’ box and pawed the ball into Johnny Kenny’s path, the Celtic loanee slicing his shot into the back of the net. However Kenny was brought down by Jay McGrath in the process, referee Damien MacGrath chalking off the goal and instead awarding a penalty to The Hoops. Up stepped Richie Towell in the 89th minute, coolly placing his shot in the bottom right corner to kill the game once and for all. Rovers will look to keep the momentum rolling this week as they stay in Tallaght and square off against Drogheda United on Friday. The Saints will travel to Tolka next and play a Shelbourne United squad that hasn’t lost in their last eight games.Towell double mops up points for Rovers
Timeline
| 29' | Mark Doyle | |
| 5. Lee Grace | 45' | |
| 59' | 22. Sam Curtis | |
| 67' | Jason McClelland Serge Atakayi | |
| 67' | Mark Doyle Jake Mulraney | |
| 17. Richie Towell | 69' | |
| 74' | Eoin Doyle Conor Carty | |
| 74' | Adam Murphy Ben McCormack | |
| 16. Gary O'Neill | 78' | |
| Ronan Finn Sean Kavanagh | 79' | |
| Graham Burke Markus Poom | 79' | |
| Rory Gaffney Johnny Kenny | 79' | |
| 84' | 7. Ben McCormack | |
| 88' | 5. Tom Grivosti | |
| 88' | 7. Ben McCormack | |
| 17. Richie Towell | 89' | |
| 89' | Jay McGrath Tommy Lonergan |
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 in Tallaght. An all-out thriller finishes Shamrock Rovers 3-2 St. Patrick's Athletic.
That initial penalty was won by Kenny, scoring from a rebound from a Byrne shot but referee Damien MacGraith chalking it off.
Goal! Up steps Towell who buries it in the bottom left corner!
Penalty for Rovers! McGarth carded after bringing down Johnny Kenny in the box!
Goal! Curtis rifles a shot from the edge of the box that forces Pohls to go to ground and save, and the ball falls right into the path of Ben McCormack.
Attendance for tonight recorded at 6,212. A Monday night record in the LOI.
A batch of subs made for Rovers. Johnny Kenny, Markus Poom, and Sean Kavanagh all come on for Gaffney, Finn and Burke.
Atakyi fails to punish a howler from Lee Grace! Grace was jockeyed by Atakyi and plays a woefully underhit back pass to Pohls, Atakyi seizing on the shot and firing wide from close range to save Grace's blushes.
Conor Carty and Ben McCormack come on for Eoin Doyle and Adam Murphy.
Goal! Finn breaks down the right flank and lofts a deadly cross on to the Pats' back post, Richie Towell producing a diving header to nod the ball home and make it 2-1!
Jake Mulraney and Serge Atakayi replace Mark Doyle and McClelland.
The game's come to a bit of standstill at the moment-no clear chances for either side in a while.
Curtis picks up a yellow card for a pull back on Farrugia.
Curtis comes back into play after a brief moment on the sideline.
A clash of heads see Sam Curtis go to ground and receive medical attention.
Eoin Doyle produces a glancing header that just veers wide of the left post.
Graham Burke shoots from outside of the box on the swivel and just gets under the ball too much, his effort flying over Lyness' crossbar.
And the visitors get things back underway!
Half time: Shamrock Roves 1-1 St. Patrick's Athletic.
Goal! Jack Byrne swings in a corner and it finds Lee Grace who heads home's powerfully to make it 1-1.
2 minutes of added time to be played here in Tallaght.
Ronan Finn pulls a ball back to Towell twelve yards out, Towell unable to strike on target as he slices his effort.
The league leaders look to be really struggling in finding the killer blow- Cleary switches the play to Farrugia in the left corner and what normally may've resulted in a dangerous cross sees Farrugia play the ball back to Gary O'Neill.
Byrne puts in an in-swinging free kick that finds the head of Lee Grace, Grace unable to find the correct placement as Lyness collects comfortably.
Goal! Mark Doyle tries his luck from outside of the box and produces a tame enough shot that clips of the heels of Pico Lopes and Graham Burke, it looks to be heading wide as Leon Pohls looks to have it covered, yet it just slips in off the right post and into the back of the net.
Lee Grace does well to stop a break, first chopping down McClelland as he progresses up the pitch, and then later intercepting a ball from the onrushing Sam Curtis.
A big block from Pico Lopes! Forrester threads McClelland through on goal and the winger looks to have a great chance to put his side ahead, and just as he pulls the trigger Lopes lunges towards the ball to deflect it out for a corner.
An overhit corner from Jack Byrne flies over every player's head and goes out for a Dean Lyness goal-kick.
It looks to just be a false alarm for now, The Saints' skipper back on the field.
Bad news for Pats-Chris Forrester has hit the deck and looks to be clutching his ankle. He comes hobbling off the pitch.
A choppy start to the game so far-Rovers enjoying more possession but Pats have done well at maintaining a nice compact shape that's afforded little chances as of yet.
Richie Towell has a crack from just inside the box-blocked by John-Alan McGrath.
And we're off after a slightly delayed kick-off!
For The Hoops, Jack Byrne starts after sustaining a knock against Derry City. 15 year-old Mason Melia-who broke the deadlock against Drogheda as a second-half sub is not included in the matchday squad. Jake Mulraney is also dropped to the bench in favour of Jason McClelland.
Interim manager Jon Daly was happy with his side's performance against Drogheda, but acknowledged there were certain chinks in his side's performance that may need addressing before tonight's game: “Of course the result is very pleasing… Three points, three goals and a clean sheet, performance-wise I was happy with elements of it, I thought Drogheda were very good,” Daly said speaking to LOITV. “There’s elements that we want to do better, but we’ll take that result every day of the week.”
“But one thing that hasn’t changed for Pat’s, no matter who their manager is, is that they have some very good individuals. Young Murphy has been very good, and they have Chris Forrester and Jake Mulraney so they have real quality in the attacking part of the pitch. “That hasn’t changed and we know that if we’re not at our very best, those individuals are good enough to cause any team problems. So we’ve got to make sure we’re ready.”
The last clash came between the two sides came on St. Patrick's day, Jake Mulraney securing a last-minute leveller to finish the game 2-2. Rovers' manager Stephen Bradley expects the Pats' team now to have shifted significantly since they last faced in March: "They’re slightly different in how they’re setting up and how they’re playing. There are different tactical tweaks to what they’re trying to do and I’m sure we’ll see that tomorrow,” he said.
Evening folks and welcome along to tonight's coverage of Shamrock Rovers vs St. Patrick's Athletic here in Tallaght Stadium. Tonight's match marks the first game Rovers play since taking top spot in the league standings. They play a Pats side that's two from two since parting ways with Tim Clancy, their last game a 3-0 win against Drogheda in Richmond Park.