Twigg full of praise for strike partner Stewart

Shamrock Rovers striker Gary Twigg paid tribute to his team mate Tommy Stewart following his side's 2-0 victory over Cork City in the last 16 of the FAI Cup on Friday night.

“We knew it was going to be difficult. They are a good side. They made it difficult but we are just happy that Tommy (Stewart) came on and got the two goals. We are delighted for him. They were his first goals since he came back. Overall it is a good night.”

Twigg was particularly complimentary about Stewart's second goal, which was scored from long range.

“It was a great strike. It was a great header from Hawks (Colin Hawkins) to put him into that space and he done the rest himself. I don't think any goalkeeper in the country would have saved it.”

The Scot admitted that Rovers found it difficult to break the deadlock against Tommy Dunne's side.

“They came and they were very rigid. They had two banks of four. They were hard to break down and the back four never really moved much. It was always going to take a long time to break them down but we knew if we were patient the time would come and fortunately Tommy took the two chances.”

The Hoops are currently 11 points behind Sligo Rovers in the league table but the defending champions do have a game in hand on the league leaders. Twigg believes that the title race is not over yet.

“There are still nine games to go.  The league is far from over. There are a lot of games and there is a lot of football still to be played. We are playing well at the minute and winning games.”