League Report: St Patrick's Athletic 2 - 1 Shamrock Rovers

St Patrick's Athletic got their hands on the bragging rights and the ever important three points as ten-man Shamrock Rovers surrendered a one goal lead on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Richmond Park.

Substitutes Kurtis Byrne and Josh O'Hanlon completed a second-half turnaround for the Saints after Gary Shaw had given Rovers an early lead. Sean Heaney was sent off for the Hoops ten minutes before the break for a second yellow card.

Rovers profited in the early periods from a Pats team who appeared to come second in the chase for every ball, while consistent fouls enabled the Hoops to remain camped in the opposition half for prolonged periods.

Fouled on the edge of the area by Conan Byrne, Graham Burke’s first set-piece curled just over after only three minutes but it didn’t take long before the away side had their noses in front.

Heaney found himself in space some distance from goal and his optimistic shot stung the palms of Conor O’Malley, who parried into a congested penalty area. The ball was swiped at by a number of players in green and white before landing somewhat fortuitously at the feet of Shaw, who sent it home just before the quarter of an hour mark.

The Rovers attack, spearheaded by Burke and Shaw, continued to cause their hosts a myriad of problems for the next fifteen minutes with free kicks from Burke and David Webster testing the Saints defence and earning Gavin Peers and Graham Kelly yellow cards in the process.

Initially, Pats were restricted to the quickly snuffed-out counter attacks of Conan Byrne and J.J Lunney, which lacked any real cutting edge, but the dynamic of the game changed on 34minutes when Heaney picked up his second yellow in quick succession for scything down Conan Byrne just as he hit his stride down the right wing.

With the visitors down to ten men and firmly on the back foot, it was their turn to be tested, and they managed to hold on until half time, surviving a number of attempts on goal, most notably Graham Kelly’s free kick from the edge of the area which forced Chencinski to dive hard and fast to his left-hand side in the Rovers goal.

It became clear that the Hoops intended on shutting up shop and protecting their lead in the second half, but even a brave defensive display couldn’t halt the inevitable.

The equaliser came just shy of the hour mark, JJ Lunney finding himself in space and feeding a pacey ball through to substitute Kurtis Byrne, who managed to wriggle free from his marker and leave Chencinski with no chance from six yards out.

With the Hoops offering little in response the outcome was always likely to be another goal. This time it was the dutiful Conan Byrne’s corner that perfectly met the head of a rising Josh O’Hanlon, the substitute scoring with his first touch after coming on for Christy Fagan.

With it abundantly clear that Shamrock Rovers where a spent force, the voices of the home support began to soar, while those in green in white where left wondering what could have been as they shuffled towards the exit door.

St. Patricks Athletic: Conor O’Malley; Michael Barker, Lee Desmond, Gavin Peers, Ian Bermingham; Pat Cregg, Graham Kelly (Kurtis Byrne 55), Alex O’Hanlon, J.J Lunney (Darragh Markey 70), Conan Byrne; Christy Fagan (Josh O’Hanlon 75).

Subs not used: Patrick Jennings, Sam Verdon, Rory Feely, Billy Dennehy.

Booked: Gavin Peers (20), Graham Kelly (25), Kurtis Byrne (84), Darragh Markey (90).

Shamrock Rovers: Tomer Chencinski; Sean Heaney, Daniel Devine, David Webster, Simon Madden; Darren Meehan (Sam Bone 45), Roberto Lopes, Ronan Finn, James Doona (David McAllister 36), Graham Burke; Gary Shaw (Sean Boyd 66).

Subs not used: Kevin Horgan (gk), Dean Dillon, Aaron Bolger, Brandon Miele.

Booked: Sean Heaney (30 & 34), Sean Boyd (85).

Sent off: Sean Heaney (34).

Referee: Paul McLaughlin.

Attendance: 2,000 (estimate)

Extratime.ie Player of the Match: Conan Byrne (St Patrick's Athletic).