| Rovers dominate despite late comeback |
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| Saturday, 03 May 2008 | |
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Sligo Rovers crept over the line by the odd goal in five tonight in the Showgrounds as they overcame Shamrock Rovers by three goals to two. The score didn’t really tell the tale though as the home side were dominant until an edgy closing phase that saw them conceding two goals and but for a last gasp clearance off the line by Chris Butler this really could have been the one that got away. The first half display was sublime, as the home side dominated for long spells and were justly rewarded with a two goal cushion. However, the visitors were resurgent in the second forty five and although Rovers looked to have things tied up with a third goal with twenty minutes to go, a sending off, a series of goalmouth scrambles and two goals from The Hoops made things somewhat less than comfortable as the clock wound down. Rovers had one forced change with Anto Murphy coming in for the suspended Conor O’Grady and Murphy made the most of his chance to start impressing throughout. But he wasn’t the only one and in the first half the home side really looked in a different league. They opened with a flourish as they pushed forward early on in an attempt to secure the lead. Directing their energies down the left, Anto Murphy’s danger from the long thrown in was exploited on more than one occasion without any real benefit. On the quarter hour the pressure almost bore fruit when a Butler cross from the left towards the railway goal was flapped at by Murphy under pressure, falling out to Kudozovic, but his effort uncharacteristically skewed well wide. The Bit O’Red’s greater invention was beginning to tell though and Cretaro had the crowd out of their seats a couple of moments later when he jumped highest from a Cash cross from the right, but his effort was deflected for a corner. And it was from that Kudozovic’s set-piece that Rovers went ahead, the ball clearing as far Brian Cash, who despite being thirty five yards out fired a daisy cutter goal-ward curving at the last second inside the right hand post. Rovers were in the ascendancy for much of the remainder of the half with chances for Murphy and Peers failing to reflect their dominance. Raffaele Cretaro almost extended the lead in the twenty seventh minute but his shot from thirty yards went narrowly wide. The Hoops were sluggish and found the steadiness of the Rovers back five too much in a first half where Richard Brush spent much of the time as spectator. The home side were almost too comfortable and just as it looked like their toil would go unrewarded, Mauro Almeida stepped up on forty minutes to extend the lead. Again it originated from a Kudozovic corner, with the visitors failing to clear their lines, it lead to a scramble that allowed the Portuguese defender to stab it in for his third of the season. Pat Scully’s must have given his charges the hairdryer treatment during the break as they were first back on to the pitch and their urgency to pull one back was obvious from the off. But despite their possession and the some time advantage of a strong wind behind their backs, it was the fifty eight minute before Doyle forced a save from Brush from an O’Connor cross on the left. The visitors may not have been pretty, but they were effective and Paul Cook’s men were relying on counter attacks, their best chance coming midway through the half when Boco broke with Kudozovic but the visitors crowded back smothering out the danger when it finally fell to Danny Ventre to strike on goal. Just as the home supporters were beginning to get a bit edgy, Romauld Boco seemed to have put the game beyond reach in the seventy second minute. The Benin man latched on to a defence splitting flick by Raff Cretaro and Boco made no mistake sliding it under the advancing keeper. Shamrock Rovers forced a super finger tip save from Brush when Maguire half-volleyed from distance, in the seventy eight minute and a minute later, they pulled one back, Owen Doyle stabbing the ball into the net Despite Gerry Carr’s appeal for calm from the sideline after that goal, Rovers sometimes looked shaky and the closing stages were charactarised by some unforced errors, that made it uncomfortable for the sizeable home support. Things were made a little bit easier though when Flynn received a straight red card for striking Alan Moore who was warming up on the sideline. It was rash and cynical act that rightly resulted in an early bath. But then all hell broke loose in the third minute of injury time when Daragh Maguire fired in a scorcher that left the Showgrounds reeling. It was a scramble to the end as the visitors smelt an upset, pushing forward again only for Chris Butler to deny them with a last gasp clearance off the line. Ultimately, the men in red and white were well worth their win, and they will be hoping for another in their next game on Tuesday night at home to Galway United in the second round of the League Cup. Sligo Rovers: Richard Brush, Seamus Coleman, Chris Butler, Gavin Peers, Mauro Almeida, Anto Murphy (Jamie McKenzie 58 min), Brian Cash, Danny Ventre, Romauld Boco, Fahrudin Kudozovic (Matthew Judge 75 min), Raffaele Cretaro Subs not used: Alan Moore, Patrick Jenning, Gary Curran Shamrock Rovers Barry Murphy, Ger O’Brien, Patrick Flynn, Aidan Price, Darragh Maguire, Eric Mcgill, Robbie Creevy (Dessie Baker 41 min), Stephen Rice, Tadgh Purcll (Alan Murphy 58 min), Owen Doyle, Sean O’Connor Subs not used: Corey Treacy, , Padraic Amond, Karl Coleman, Referee: A Buttimer By Paraic Casey |
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