Shamrock Rovers left it late again with birthday boy Liam Scales heading home in the 95th minute as they beat Longford Town FC 1-0 at Tallaght Stadium this afternoon.
It was a day when Daire Doyle’s visitors put in a great defensive performance in the capital, but Rovers dug deep to deliver a victory.
It seemed as though The Hoops would be unable to replicate Thursday night’s late dramatics as they continually failed to break down a stern Longford Town defence. Just seconds before the winner, Graham Burke headed the ball off of the post.
However, Scales came to the rescue, with a glancing header at the near post. A massive three points for Stephen Bradley’s side and deservedly so, however De Town will be more than heartbroken after a valiant defensive performance.
Daire Doyle’s side weathered the storm for 90 minutes as the hosts dominated the game. Paddy Kirk and Aaron O’Driscoll were excellent at the back for the visitors. Michael McDonnell made an incredible defensive header in the last 15 minutes, denying Aaron Greene a certain goal.
Town goalkeeper Lee Steacy proved to be the most heroic of the bunch making numerous vital saves throughout the game. Steacy made several close range saves in the final 10 minutes, looking unbeatable up until the final minute of injury-time.
Rovers always looked the more threatening going forward. The front three of Burke, Aaron Greene and Thursday night’s hero Aidomo Emakhu caused all sorts of problems for the visitors as they pressed and harassed their back line all game long.
Despite the problems the front three caused they never managed to create many clear-cut chances and were unable to finish the few that they did. The introduction of Rory Gaffney and Daniel Mandriou injected life into Rovers, allowing Burke more space to drive into the box and wreak havoc. The final 10 minutes was a barrage from Stephen Bradley’s side on the Longford box and ultimately led to the winner.
With this afternoon’s victory Shamrock Rovers find themselves three points clear of second place Pat’s with a game in hand. As for Longford, 12 points separate them and ninth place Finn Harps who have a game in hand over the Midlanders.
