Shamrock Rovers 1 – 1 St Patrick’s Athletic
Seán O’Connor live at Tallaght stadium.
St Patrick’s Athletic almost caused a huge opening weekend upset as a 89th minute Aaron Greene header saw the points shared at Tallaght Stadium last night. Rovers came into last night’s match unbeaten in their last 10 meetings with Pat’s. New signings Danny Mandroiu, Sean Hoare & Sean Gannon all started, with Ronan Finn captaining the side. That said Rovers found Pat’s to be tricky opposition last year and were the only side that the league champions failed to beat. Having avoided a relegation play-off last year Pat’s recruited well over the winter. Stephen O’Donnell handed Vítězslav Jaroš and Ronan Coughlan their debuts, while Paddy Barret returned to the back line.
It was Pat’s who started much brighter, pressing Rovers high up the pitch and putting Lopes & Hoare in awkward positions early on. Rovers struggled to get out of their own half for periods with Sean Gannon picking up an early yellow. Rovers grew into the game after 20 minutes with Graham Burke’s low drive well saved by Jaroš. On the half hour mark, Mandroiu had a wild effort from distance before Burke and Finn also tried their luck in front of goal. Pat’s proved solid at the back with Barrett and Desmond soaking up the pressure with ease. In what was turning into a feisty affair, Desmond and Desmond picked up yellow cards as the referee struggled to control the game in parts, wild challenges aplenty.
Rovers began the second half much better than the first. Hoare found Burke who saw his shot sail over the bar. Still, frustrated at his side's lack of creative spark in the game, Stephen Bradley sent on Aaron Greene on 55 minutes to replace Rory Gaffney. Greene made an instant impact as Rovers began to really test the Jaroš on his debut. Mannus saved well from Matty Smith’s driving effort from outside the area. Greene was again the difference when his cross found Mandroiu, who saw his shot brilliantly cleared off the line. Watts and Kavanagh were introduced on 70 minutes, and in turn Rovers’ intensity stepped up as they went in search of a winner. Graham Burke, Rovers main goal threat had a free kick saved by Jaroš, before McCann shot just wide of the target on 80 minutes
However, the breakthrough came at the other end and against the run of play. Pat’s caught Rovers on the counter as Benson drove down the left wing. His low cross found the goal via Lopes to give Pat’s a 1-0 lead. Pat’s were minutes away from a first win in 10 versus Rovers, but Sean Hoare’s brilliant cross found Greene who headed in the equalizer. Liam Scales had the final chance but saw his header skim just wide before Robert Hennessy blew for full-time.
Reflecting on the tough battle between the sides, Bradley told RTE that the draw was a fair outcome over the balance of play. "Everyone's going to come and play like Pat's in terms of everyone coming and having a go off us and we've got to be ready for that. I thought in large spells tonight we were. We maybe could have been more clinical in the final third but we weren’t, and I think a point in the end was the fair result”.
For Pat’s, it will feel like 2 points dropped rather than 1 gained as Lee Desmond described, "I have to say it was probably the most positive I've been and the most belief coming up here for the first time since 2015 so it's disappointing not to win. Maybe it'll be a good point but at the minute, it just feels like we should have won the game".
Rovers travel to face Derry City next Saturday night while Pat’s host newly promoted Drogheda.