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Date Time League Season
10 April 2023 8:00 pm LOI Men's Premier Division 2023

Match Report

Burke at the Double as Rovers march on

Shamrock Rovers made it three wins from three as they beat out a hapless UCD side 3-0 in Tallaght.

UCD set up well but their good work in the first 20 minutes was undone by two quick-fire goals from Graham Burke, who netted from close range on both occasions.

From there on Rovers cruised to the three points, Jack Byrne scoring the third goal of the affair, his curling effort from outside of the box was fumbled by Kian Moore and spilt into the back of the net.

A sluggish start to the game saw UCD execute their game plan well maintaining a solid compact shape that afforded the likes of Jack Byrne and Markus Poom very little room to operate.

It was Graham Burke, fresh off turning in a man-of-the-match performance in The Dublin Derby, who undid all of The Student’s hard work in devastating fashion, providing two quick-fire goals in the 21st and 25th minute.

The first came from a lighting-quick counter attack, the ball moving from Rovers’ third to the back of Kian Moore’s goal in a matter of seconds. Trevor Clarke fed Gaffney down the right wing, Gaffney then drilling the ball across the box for Burke to tap in neatly.

Minutes later The Hoops were rewarded with a corner after a sustained bout of pressure. Byrne whipped in a cross that saw UCD fail to clear their lines, the ball eventually finding Burke at point-blank range, the number 10 rifling the ball into the roof of the net to make it 2-0.

As the game ticked on, it was clear that The Hoops were more than content to sit back and knock the ball around the park to ensure the three points. UCD struggled to get back into the game, and in a way it was to be expected given The Students have managed to find the net just four times this season.

Jack Byrne made it 3-0 in the 58th minute, slightly diluted celebrations following the goal due to the sheer oddity of it. Byrne went for a curling effort from outside of the box that looked like it would have been comfortably saved by Moore, but as the keeper went to tip the effort over the bar he fumbled the ball and saw it spill into the back of his net.

The Hoops will stay in Tallaght for their next fixture, where they’ll face Shelbourne for another Dublin Derby. The last time the sides met was in mid-march, where a Rovers team that was still struggling for form played out a drab goalless draw in Tolka. Stephen Bradley’s men will undoubtedly go into this clash with a bit more confidence given their run of three wins from three.

Despite it being relatively early doors so far this season, UCD will be playing a potential relegation six pointer in the Bowl on Friday as they square off against ninth-place Cork City.

Shamrock Rovers

1Alan Mannus Goalkeeper
3Sean Hoare Defender
4Roberto Lopes Defender
5Lee Grace Defender
18Trevor Clarke Defender 32'
7Dylan Watts 21 Midfielder
15Darragh Nugent Midfielder 9'
19Markus Poom 23 Midfielder
29Jack Byrne 24 Midfielder 58'
10Graham Burke 34 Forward 21', 25'
20Rory Gaffney 2 Forward
2Sean Gannon 20 Defender
6Daniel Cleary Defender
11Sean Kavanagh Defender
16Gary O’Neill Midfielder
21Justin Ferizaj 7 Midfielder
23Neil Farrugia 19 Midfielder
24Johnny Kenny 29 Forward
25Leon Pohls Goalkeeper
34Conan Noonan 10 Midfielder

UCD AFC

16Kian Moore Goalkeeper
26Luke O’Regan Defender
33Colin Bolton 11 Defender
6Jack Keaney Midfielder
7Brendan Barr Midfielder
10Ciaran Behan Midfielder
13Jesse Dempsey Midfielder
17Dara Keane Midfielder
19Sami Clarke 14 Forward
25Daniel Norris 32 Forward
29Jake Doyle 27 Forward
11Alex Nolan 33 Forward
14Harry O’Connor 19 Midfielder
18Donal Higgins Midfielder
20Sam Healy Goalkeeper
24Harvey O’Brien Defender
27Devine Izekor 29 Forward
31Kyle Donoghue Midfielder
32Daniel McCarthy 25 Defender
  • And it's full-time in Tallaght! It finishes, Shamrock Rovers 3-0 UCD.

  • 90'

    3 minutes of added time to be played in Tallaght.

  • 89'

    UCD of course stay bottom of the table, and there'll be sizeable cause for concern as Cork City, who currently reside in 9th, took a big win against Dundalk.

  • 86'

    With results across the table, this win takes Rovers into third place and seven points adrift of league leaders Bohemians.

  • 81'

    Gaffney is replaced by Sean Gannon.

  • 79'

    Kenny gets another chance from close range but sees his shot blocked by UCD's defence.

  • 74'

    More subs go on, as Doyle is swapped for Divine Izekor and Norris for Daniel McCarthy.

  • 69'

    Burke and Watts are replaced by Conan Noonan and Justin Ferizaj.

  • 68'

    Kenny misses a sitter! The Celtic loanee receives a squared ball from Gaffney about six yards out and skies the ball into the south stand

  • 66'

    Farrugia whips in a good ball for Kenny who can only head straight into Moore's gloves.

  • 64'

    Batch of substitutions being made here in Tallaght. For Rovers, Byrne goes off for Farrugia and Poom is replaced by Johnny Kenny. For UCD, Clarke comes off for Harry O'Connor.

  • 58'

    Goal! It's an odd one, Jack Byrne hits a decent shot from outside of the box and as Moore goes to tip the ball over the bar the keeper completely fumbles it and it leaks into his net.

  • 57'

    Burke cuts in and unleashes a curling shot destined for the top left corner. Nolan gets down well to head away.

  • 55'

    Subsitution for UCD. Bolton comes off for Alex Nolan.

  • 50'

    Almost a brilliant goal for Rovers. Graham Burke pulls off a roulette in the UCD box that frees him up, squaring it to Rory Gaffney who goes for an audacious backheel that's blocked by Bolton.

  • 46'

    Things are back underway in Tallaght!

  • Half-time in Tallaght. Shamrock Rovers 2-0 UCD.

  • 42'

    The games kept ticking on as Rovers look more than happy to knock the ball around the midfield and preserve their lead.

  • 36'

    A jinxing run from Norris sees him cut down and release a shot from outside of the box that was arcing for the bottom right corner. The effort lacked the necessary pace and saw Mannus get down comfortably to collet.

  • 31'

    UCD are looking shellshocked following those two quick-fire goals, and it's difficult to see how a team who've scored just four from eight games can find a route back into the game.

  • 25'

    Goal, and it's Graham Burke again! A Jack Byrne cross from a corner sends the box into chaos and the ball finds itself at Burke's feet who lashes into the roof or the net from point-blank range.

  • 25'

    Gaffney catches the ball on the colley on the left side of the box and unleashes a venomous shot. It requires a strong hand from Kian Moore to stop the effort.

  • 21'

    Goal! Gaffney breaks down the right-hand side who drills the ball across the box and finds Graham Burke who finishes from close-range to give his side the lead.

  • 20'

    Lopes-from about six yards out-gets up well for a corner but fires wide.

  • 17'

    Best chance of the game so far, as Byrne catches UCD's defence lapsing and slots in Trevor Clarke on the left side of the box. Clarke can't do any better than hitting the side-netting.

  • 12'

    UCD have done a good job at sticking to the game plan so far-staying nice and compact, not affording Rovers any space or sizeable chances.

  • 9'

    A late tackle from Darragh Nugent on Ciaran Behan results in the first card of the match.

  • 6'

    A nice turn on the half-way line by Colin Bolton sets UCD off on the break but the attacks snuffed out by Sean Hoare as the ball goes out for a throw-in.

  • 1'

    UCD's Sami Clarke gets proceedings underway

  • Weather looks to have calmed down but there's still a chilly bite in the air...

  • Ten mins from kick-off in Tallaght and there looks to be an attendance of roughly 3,000 or so.

  • Graham Burke and Jack Byrne both start for The Hoops. Both turned in big displays against Bohs and Bradley will be hoping for more of the same tonight. On Friday night performances, Bradley said: “I think every player was excellent, to be fair but Jack and Graham when they’re like that, in that form and work like that for the team, they’re very, very hard to deal with. They worked extremely hard for the team first of all and then they bring that quality that we know they have. I thought both of them at times were unplayable."

  • Four changes for UCD since that goalless draw against Shelbourne on Friday. Adam Wells, Mark Dignham, Alex Nolan, and Danu Kinsella Bishop are dropped. Luke O'Riordan, Colin Bolton, Sami Clarke and Daniel Norris come in.

  • Big omissions for Rovers as Neil Farrugia is left on the bench and replaced by Trevor Clarke. Richie Towell and Ronan Finn remain out of the squad as they continue to deal with a lingering illness that also meant they watched the Dublin Derby from home. Pico Lopes also returns to the heart of defence, having been favoured for Daniel Cleary last Friday.

  • Rovers manager Stephen Bradley on his side's opposition for tonight: "We’ve got to be expecting a tough game and the best UCD to show up. We’ve got to make sure that we respect them like we do every team and I’ve no doubt we will. It’s the same three points on offer tomorrow night as it was on Friday night so our mentality and approach don’t change. We give UCD the respect they deserve and we’ll be fully focused on trying to win the game.”

  • Evening folks, and welcome along to tonight's match report of Shamrock Rovers vs UCD here in Tallaght. Rovers look to keep the momentum going after two big wins over Dundalk and Bohemians in the past week. Weather here has so far been a mixed bag, with some pretty heavy showers cropping up a few times.

Past Meetings

(Round of 16)
1 - 4
Leinster Senior Cup
UCD Bowl

UCD AFC v Shamrock Rovers

(Round 36)
0 - 2
LOI Men's Premier Division
UCD Bowl

UCD AFC 0-2 Shamrock Rovers

(Round 26)
1 - 0
LOI Men's Premier Division
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers 1-0 UCD AFC

(Round 16)
0 - 3
LOI Men's Premier Division
UCD Bowl

UCD AFC v Shamrock Rovers

(Round 1)
3 - 0
LOI Men's Premier Division
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers v UCD AFC

8 - 2
eLOI Group C
Online Event

Shamrock Rovers v UCD AFC

(Series 14)
2 - 5
LOI Men's First Division
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers v University College Dublin AFC

(Series 5)
3 - 1
LOI Men's First Division
UCD Bowl

University College Dublin AFC v Shamrock Rovers

0 - 3
LOI Men's Premier Division
UCD Bowl

UCD AFC v Shamrock Rovers FC

7 - 0
LOI Men's Premier Division
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers FC v UCD AFC

0 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
UCD Bowl

UCD AFC v Shamrock Rovers FC

3 - 1
LOI Men's Premier Division
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers FC v UCD AFC

3
LOI Men's Premier Division
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers FC v UCD AFC

2
LOI Men's Premier Division
UCD Bowl

UCD AFC v Shamrock Rovers FC

2
LOI Men's Premier Division
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers FC v UCD AFC

Ground

Tallaght Stadium
Tallaght Stadium, Whitestown Way, Tallaght, Dublin 24, D24 XC9W

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