Derry City 2 St Patrick’s Athletic 1
Will Patching broke St Pat’s hearts at the Brandywell, his 92nd-minute strike sending Tim Clancy’s side back to Dublin in frustrated fashion.
The result, while somewhat fortunate, sees Ruaidhrí Higgins side move on to the summit of the Premier Division table ahead of the international break, a statistic warmly welcomed by the Foyleside faithful.
Indeed, the Candystripes appear to have developed a habit of netting late strikes and remain undefeated after six games.
The home side may have dominated the clearcut scoring chances during what was an end-to-end first half, but Pat’s certainly gained dominance during the second period.
The home side got off to the best possible start when breaking the deadlock after just four minutes.
Danny Lafferty gained possession on the left flank and his short pass to Will Patching saw the Derry playmaker work the ball on to his right foot before curling a superb shot into the far corner of Joseph Anang’s net.
Four minutes later Pat’s threatened when Billy King stung the palms of Brian Maher, the Derry goalkeeper punching the ball clear.
Jamie McGonigle tested Anang in the 10th minute, the Pat’s goalkeeper doing well to pluck the ball out of the air.
Anang was back in the thick of the action in the 18th minute when he superbly parried a goalbound effort from Ronan Boyce who had been set-up by Patching following a poor headed defensive clearance from Jack Scott.
Pat’s went close to equalising again in the 32nd minute when a Chris Forester delivery was met by King but his header skimmed the crossbar and the big crowd breathed a sigh of relief.
Back bounced Derry with Lafferty forcing Anang into another vital save as the play swung from end to end.
One minute before the break McGonigle really should have doubled Derry’s lead when Patching again assumed the role of provider before the Derry hitman crashed his shot off the base of the upright from an acute angle. He really should have done better.
However, it was St Pat’s who gained reward two minutes into the second half when centre back Tom Grivosti silenced the Brandywell with a sublime strike.
Chris Forrester played the ball back into Grivosti’s path and his right-foot shot screamed into the top corner of Maher’s net to restore equality.
And if Patching was considered the dominant player in midfield during the opening period, then Forrester clearly upped his ante following the change of ends, the Dubliner heavily involved in the action.
Indeed, the Pat’s captain let fly with a superb left-foot shot in the 59th minute from 25 yards which sailed narrowly over the crossbar.
James Akintunde was presented with a superb chance in the 63rd minute when Brandon Kavanagh’s teasing cross had been delivered into the danger area but the striker failed to get his head to the ball and a glorious chance was lost for the home side.
Derry began to get their act together when Lafferty was played through by Kavanagh, the wing back denied by Anang, the goalkeeper feeling the full power of the shot when saving with his upper body.
DERRY CITY: Maher; Toal, McJannet, McEleney; Boyce, Dummigan, Patching, Thomson (Kavanagh, 57 mins), Lafferty; Akintunde (McLaughlin, 72 mins); McGonigle.
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Anang; Scott, Redmond, Grivosti, Breslin; Burns (Abankwah, 82 mins), Forrester, O'Reilly, M. Doyle (Coughlan, 89 mins); King (Owolabi, 78 mins), E Doyle.
Referee: D McGraith (Mayo).
Shamrock Rovers 2 Sligo Rovers 2
Shamrock Rovers came from two goals down to take a point from Sligo Rovers in a thrilling game at Tallaght Stadium.
Ireland under-21 keeper Ed McGinty pulled off a string of fine second-half saves but couldn’t prevent his side surrendering their two-goal lead.
Sligo side led 2-0 at the break thanks to brilliantly-taken finishes from Will Fitzgerald and Aidan Keena.
Graham Burke pulled one back from the spot midway through the second half and an Adam McDonnell own goal meant the game finished level.
Rovers should have led early on as Andy Lyons played a wonderful ball across the six-yard box for Rory Gaffney to tap in but he couldn’t make contact.
Gaffney saw his header drop inches wide of the post moments later as he met a Barry Cotter cross, and they paid for their profligacy soon after.
Jordan Hamilton floated in a lovely cross and Fitzgerald peeled off the shoulder of Seán Hoare to nod past Alan Mannus.
Sligo doubled their lead as Cotter’s loose pass allowed Keena to nip and find the bottom corner with precise strike.
Rovers introduced Jack Byrne at the break and he had an immediate impact, but it was Lyons who created the chance to get one back.
He charged on to a loose header and danced past Adam McDonnell, drawing the foul, and Burke sent McGinty the wrong way from 12 yards.
McGinty produced a stunning save to keep out Lee Grace but, from the resulting corner, Grace’s header went in off McDonnell.
The goalkeeper produced another wonder stop to deny Richie Towell the winner late on as both sides had to settle for a point.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Alan Mannus; Seán Hoare, Roberto Lopes, Lee Grace; Andy Lyons, Dylan Watts (Richie Towell, 75 mins), Gary O'Neill (Jack Byrne, 46 mins), Barry Cotter (Neil Farrugia, 46 mins); Graham Burke, Danny Mandroiu (Aaron Greene 64), Rory Gaffney (Aidomo Emakhu, 64 mins).
SLIGO ROVERS: Ed McGinty; Lewis Banks, Garry Buckley, Nando Pijnaker, Paddy Kirk; Niall Morahan (Shane Blaney, 89 mins), Adam McDonnell, Jordan Hamilton (David Cawley, 79 mins); Will Fitzgerald (Mark Byrne, 89 mins), Karl O'Sullivan (Colm Horgan, 69 mins), Aidan Keena (Max Mata, 69 mins).
Referee: Derek Tomney.
Drogheda United 1 Dundalk 0
Dean Williams’s penalty earned Drogheda United a memorable victory in the 168th Louth derby at Head In The Game Park, condemning Dundalk to a first defeat of the league season.
Kevin Doherty’s side earned just a 37th win in games against their county rivals, but while Dundalk’s historical supremacy remains, local bragging rights are all about the here and now.
Both sides had only managed one win each in their 11 previous outings this season and the derby offered a perfect opportunity to turbo-charge their respective seasons.
Dundalk edged a competitive first half, despite the hosts twice going close to scoring a lead goal. First, Andy Boyle blocked Williams’s effort. An open goal gaped for the striker after he rounded Dundalk goalkeeper Nathan Sheppard.
Dane Massey, who amassed nine major honours in his eight years at Oriel Park, almost put Drogheda in front. His improvised effort looked set to drop under the bar but John Martin was perfectly placed on the line to clear.
Martin then teed up Patrick Hoban at the other end but the striker couldn’t add to his three career goals against the Lilywhites’ fierce rivals.
Just four minutes had elapsed after the restart when United were handed the initiative. Greg Sloggett was penalised for a foul on Darragh Nugent and Williams beat Sheppard from the spot.
Adam Foley cracked a shot off the bar soon after while Steven Bradley was denied by Sam Long.
DROGHEDA UNITED: Long; Poynton (Quinn, 83 mins), Roughan, Cowan, Massey; Deegan, Clarke; Foley, Nugent, Rooney; Williams (Lyons, 68 mins).
DUNDALK: Sheppard; Macari (McMillan, 71 mins), Connolly, Boyle, Bone; Williams (Doyle, 71 mins), Benson, Sloggett, Adams (Ward, 46 mins); Martin (Bradley, 46), Hoban.
Referee: Rob Hennessy
Shelbourne 0 Finn Harps 3
Finn Harps moved off the bottom of the Premier Division table with a deserved triumph over Shelbourne at Tolka Park.
Goals from Ethan Boyle, Conor Tourish and Eric McWoods secured their first win of the campaign in fine style to leapfrog UCD in the standings.
Hoping to secure their first home success under ex-Republic of Ireland international Damien Duff, Shels breathed a sigh of relief in the second minute when Filip Mihaljevic’s acrobatic overhead kick rebounded off the crossbar. Still searching for his maiden goal since joining the club the Croatian attacker shook the woodwork for a second time off a Barry McNamee delivery four minutes later.
While Shels grew into the game, their goalkeeper Lewis Webb was forced to turn away a subsequent free-kick from former Reds player Yoyo Mahdy. Brian McManus and Jordan McEneff were both off-target for the hosts, but it was Harps who broke the deadlock on 44 minutes as Boyle fired home underneath Webb following excellent approach work from Mihaljevic and Mahdy.
Shels lost John Ross Wilson to a serious-looking injury in the direct aftermath of Boyle’s opener and suffered a further blow just past the hour. Following a Ryan Rainey header across the goal, Tourish scrambled home from close range to double his side’s 1-0 interval lead.
Despite their undoubted endeavours, Shels couldn’t test the resolve of Harps netminder Mark Anthony McGinley and an 88th-minute finish from substitute McWoods rounded off a comfortable victory for Finn Harps.
SHELBOURNE: Webb; O'Driscoll, Byrne, Ledwidge; Wilson (Farrell, 44 mins), McEneff (Anaebonam, 70 mins), Coyle (Hakiki, 70 mins), Kane; McManus (Dervin, 57 mins); Boyd (Hawkins, 57 mins), Carr.
FINN HARPS: McGinley; Tourish, Webster, Boyle, Carrillo; Connolly, N'Zeyi; Rainey (Alkan, 84 mins), Mahdy (McWoods, 70 mins), McNamee (Hery, 91 mins); Mihaljevic (Timlin, 91 mins).
Referee: J McLoughlin (Westmeath).
