St Patrick’s Athletic 1
Shamrock Rovers 1
IT’S AS YOU were in the race for the final European spot after St Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers played out an exhilarating 1-1 draw tonight in Richmond Park.
The point for Liam Buckley’s men sees them stay seven ahead of their Tallaght rivals, although both would qualify if they get through to the FAI Cup Final and they finish in third and fourth in the league.
The Hoops were at it from the first minute tonight, and Kieran Marty Waters had already forced Brendan Clarke into two saves when McCabe rolled the ball past the goalkeeper after Ger O’Brien had miscued his clearance.
This season has seen St Pat’s use no less than 14 different defensive foursomes, and that lack of consistency was evident with them relinquishing possession several times in the opening half.
They did eventually begin to get sight of the Rovers goal with 20 minutes on the clock, and Conor Kenna had to be alert to intercept Conan Byrne’s cross as Keith Fahey readied himself to shoot at the back post.
Fahey followed that up with a wayward strike before O’Brien was forced off with an injury after colliding with David O’Connor.
Aaron Greene replaced him, and a shift in personal, which saw Conor McCormack moving to right-back, gave the homeside more impetus up front.
Christy Fagan had two shots blocked, Fahey dragged a strike wide, and Chris Forrester forced Barry Murphy into his first save, but Rovers still looked relatively comfortable, with Patrick Cregg putting on a brilliant defensive midfield display.
The Pat’s pressure did intensify after the break, however, and they finally drew level on the hour mark when Conan Byrne converted from six-yards.
The home crowd probably thought the Champions would really push on after that, but they didn’t, and instead dropped deeper, while Rovers introduced Ciaran Kilduff to bolster their attack.
Several second-half yellow cards brought even more spice to an already feisty Dublin derby, and both sides ended the game with chances to score a winner.
McGuinness hit the Saints’ crossbar and Kilduff forced Clarke into a point-blank save, while Murphy stopped two Forrester strikes before the final whistle.
ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke, O’Brien (Greene 21), Bermingham, Byrne, Fahey, Fagan, Chambers, Browne, Forrester, Hoare, McCormack. Substitutes: Foran, Quigley, Fitzgerald, Grenne, Durrad, Verdon, Jennings.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Murphy, Madden, Kenna, McGuinness, D O’Connor, Cregg, McPhail, Finn (Kilduff 76), McCabe (Brennan 63), Sheppard, Waters (S O’Connor 46). Substitutes: Hyland, Cornwall, Robinson, S O’Connor, Brennan, Kelly, Kilduff.
