- Fran Reilly
- Sat, Sep 05 2015
See Eoin Smith's, Eddie Lennon's and Peter Fitzpatrick's photos from the game here.
Shamrock Rovers' home hoodoo over Bohemians continued on Saturday afternoon as they could only manage a 1-1 draw at Tallaght Stadium, meaning they are without a home win against the Phibsboro side since March 2012.
Ismahil Akinade's first-half goal of comical proportions ensured that the Gypsies left this Dublin Derby with a share of the spoils after a fine Gareth McCaffrey solo effort in the second-half pulled the Hoops level.
Bohs were good value for the point, but Pat Fenlon will be disappointed as his side failed to find a winner, with Michael Drennan in particular guilty of missing three glorious opportunities to add to his goal tally this season.
Both sides made two changes from their last outings against Dundalk. For Rovers, Conor Kenna and Gary McCabe dropped to the bench, with Damien Duff coming in for his full home debut and Stephen McPhail making his first competitive start for the Hoops since the 2-1 win over Galway United in June.
As for Bohs, they were without the suspended duo of Roberto Lopes and Derek Prendergast, as well as their suspended boss Keith Long, so Eoin Wearen and Anto Murphy came into the starting line-up.
The first real chance of the game for the hosts came from an 11th minute Damien Duff free-kick on the right-wing. Duff swung in a perfect ball and Gareth McCaffrey rose highest to meet it on the edge of the six yard box, but his header was comfortably saved by Dean Delany.
Ten minutes later, though, and the Hoops really should have taken the lead. McCaffrey was involved again, squaring to the unmarked Michael Drennan inside the penalty area – but with just Delany to beat, the former Aston Villa striker fired wide of the target from 12 yards.
It wasn't long when the costliness of that miss increased as Bohs took the lead in the 26th minute...and it is a goal nobody from a Rovers perspective will want to see again. A long ball from midfield by Keith Buckley seemed to catch Luke Byrne too far forward, so Hoops 'keeper Barry Murphy rushed outside of his area to deal with it.
Ismahil Akinade was lurking, though, and his presence was enough to cause a defensive mix-up between Byrne and Murphy. The ball bounced between them and hit Akinade last before rolling into the goal from outside the box to put the visitors in front.
Rovers struggled to fashion anything clearcut for the remainder of the half, but did see one more great chance go begging, and it was Drennan who was the culprit again. Right-back Simon Madden overlapped down the right-wing and swung in an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Drennan.
However, the 21 year old failed to add to his 11 goals this season as, despite being under no pressure, he could only head straight at Delany from six yards. Luckily for him, it wouldn't take too long into the second for Rovers to get their equaliser.
McCaffrey, who moments before had brought a smart reflex save out of Delany with a close range header, intercepted a loose ball from Bohs skipper Dave Mulcahy in the 52nd minute and ran all of 30 yards unchallenged before firing low past the helpless visiting 'keeper.
Immediately afterwards, group of fans ran onto the pitch but were swiftly shouted off and booed off by Barry Murphy and the rest of the fans inside of the ground respectively.
Despite having plenty of possession, Rovers couldn't translate that into opportunities and it was Bohs who nearly hit the front eight minutes from the end when Lorcan Fitzgerald's 25 yard free-kick hit the wrong side of the net.
Drennan had one last decent chance to win the game for Rovers when he latched onto a long ball over the top, but Delany did well to narrow an already tight angle and was out quick enough to stop the shot.
Shamrock Rovers: Barry Murphy; Simon Madden, David Webster, Maxime Blanchard, Luke Byrne; Brandon Miele, Patrick Cregg, Stephen McPhail, Damien Duff (Kieran Marty Waters, 72); Michael Drennan, Gareth McCaffrey (Gavin Brennan, 85).
Subs not used: Craig Hyland (gk), David O'Connor, Conor Kenna, Ryan Brennan, Gary McCabe.
Bookings: Webster (79), Cregg (89).
Bohemians: Dean Delany; Dylan Hayes, Anto Murphy (Robbie Creevy, 72), Stephen Best, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Dave Mulcahy, Keith Buckley, Eoin Wearen (Jason Byrne, 85), Paddy Kavanagh; Adam Evans (Karl Moore, 65), Ismahil Akinade.
Subs not used: Lee Stacey(gk), Jason Caffrey, James O'Brien, Kealon Dillon.
Bookings: None.
Referee: David McKeon.
Attendance: 3,000 (est).
Extratime Man of the Match: Dean Delany (Bohemians).
