Shamrock Rovers 0 - 3 Newcastle United

Shamrock Rovers succumbed to Newcastle United's second half onslaught in a packed friendly at Tallaght Stadium.

After a goalless first half it was Stephen Taylor who broke the deadlock 52 minutes into the game when he turned in the rebound from close range after Andy NcNeil had saved Kazenga Lualua's low drive from inside the area with his legs. Shola Ameobi and Nile Ranger scored late on to give the scoreline a one-sided look but for the first half at least, Shamrock Rovers looked anything but overawed by their Championship rivals.

Rovers manager Michael O'Neill had said before the game that he was unlikely to play anyone who had played in the previous night's win at Bray Wanderers. With Rovers moving into second spot in the table, O'Neill was true to his word starting with several triallists. His rather makeshift Rovers side took the game to Newcastle in the first half, Padraig Amond forcing the first save of the game from Stephen Harper inside the opening minute with a long range drive.

The rest of the half was an entertaining affair, albeit one with few clear-cut chances. Habib Beye did well to hold up the ball in the area on 19 minutes but Nicky Butt could only get a toe to the pass and McNeil saved. The lively Beye had had a sizzling drive diverted wide by McNeil just a few minutes earlier. Irish international Damien Duff could have given his side the lead midway through the half but passed the ball just wide after being played in by Nile Ranger from the right hand side.

Managerless Newcastle were led by ex-Irish international Chris Hughton and he made wholesale changes after half time, bringing on 11 players as the Hoops' resistance began to crumble. Ryan Taylor in particular impressed and he took only two minutes of the second half to test McNeil when his long range free kick was saved at the post. Ameobi's perfect cross ten minutes later should have been scored by Ryan Donaldson but the England under-17 international somehow contrived to head wide from inside the 6-yard box.

Pavol Jurco missed Rovers' best chance of the match when Tim Krul in the Newcastle goal missed a routine clearance and the ball bobbled to him with 13 minutes remaining. The triallist from MFK Kosice just couldn't turn fast enough with the ball and slammed his shot into the post, missing an open goal. Moments before that Danny Guthrie had grazed the top of the bar with his free kick from a tight angle on the left side but it was debatable whether he actually meant to do so.

That chance gave the home crowd renewed energy but it was only a matter of time before the Magpies made sure of the result. They had to wait until three minutes from the end however, when Ameobi's left foot shot was deflected into the roof of the net via a Rovers defender. Ameobi had posed a serious threat to the Rovers defence since his introduction, having broken through twice in the preceding ten minutes only to make the wrong decision when bearing down on goal.

Just two minutes after that the Nigerian-born star had his shot blocked by McNeil's dive at his feet only for it to fall kindly for Nile Ranger who calmly slotted home into an unguarded goal from the edge of the area. The scoreline was probably justified given Newcastle's second half dominance, although a goal of their own would not have flattered Shamrock Rovers. For Newcastle this was a good run out at the start of the long road back to the English Premiership which commences in August, while Rovers will look towards the second half of what could be a very good league season for them, and to the visit of Real Madrid on 20th July.

Shamrock Rovers: A. McNeil (Coleman), E. McGill, D. Maguire, C. Treacy, S. Madden, A. Trouten, B. Johnston, R. Chisholm (Hydeman), P. Gal Andrezky, P. Jurco (O'Connor), P. Amond Subs: E. Doyle, L. Massey, S. O'Connor, T. Purcell, I. Bermingham, K. Coleman, V. Ekanem, A. Price, S. Robinson, T. Hydeman

Newcastle United: S. Harper, F. Coloccini, J. Barton, D. Duff, H. Beye, N. Butt, T. Kadar, W. Ngo Boheng, C. Morris, N. Ranger, K. Nolan Subs: J. Enrique, D. Guthrie, Ryan Taylor, A. Smith, S. Ameobi, S. Taylor, F. Wiafe Danquah, O. Soderberg, B. Tozer, K. Lualua, T. Krul, R. Donaldson