'He has been a fantastic servant to the club' - Ian Morris as Dayle Rooney hits 100 appearances for Shels

Dayle Rooney in action for Shelbourne

Dayle Rooney in action for Shelbourne Credit: Martin Doherty (ETPhotos)

Shelbourne boss Ian Morris praised his long-serving winger Dayle Rooney after he clocked up 100 senior appearances for the Reds.

Rooney made his competitive first-team debut for Shels under former boss Owen Heary in 2017 after rising through the ranks at the Tolka Park outfit.

The 23-year-old capped his 100th bow for the club with a goal as Morris’ charges were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Cobh Ramblers on Friday night.  

“He’s been brilliant,” Morris told extratime.com. “It’s not often you have players hit 100 appearances for a club.

He’s been fantastic. He is always improving, and his work-rate is second to none. He has been a fantastic servant to the club.”

Morris is also hoping that Rooney’s exploits can help inspire the next generation coming through at the club.

“They have to look up to him and see what he has done,” he added. “He’s pushed on and was captain of the under-19 side.

“He’s come into the first-team and he’s producing. He’s scoring goals and has got his 100th appearance for the club.”

But despite the Ballymun native’s milestone for the Reds, Morris explained that he was frustrated that his side could not maintain their 11-point lead at the top of the table.



“It’s frustrating to not win the game after going ahead twice at home,” he said. “Credit to Cobh, they stuck in and there second equaliser was a great strike on the edge of the box.

“They were good, they sat in and defended really well. They counter-attacked with real pace and were difficult to break down.

“We should have had the game out of sight in the first-half. We had chances again in the second-half and we just couldn’t put the game to bed.

“We’re still unbeaten in the league and are nine points clear with ten games to go is not a bad position to be in.”

He was, however, able to unveil the signings of Yassine En-Neyah and Kameron Ledwidge prior to kick-off, and he is hoping that both of his new recruits can prove their worth as Shels reach the business end of the season.



“They’re two decent lads and they need to get first-team experience,” he said. “They need to play games at senior level. Hopefully they can come in and add to us in the group.”

He added: “It is always a step-up [from under-23s football]. They’ve got to realise that they have to play at a higher tempo and that games matter. Every single week it matters and that’s the be all and end all.

“[Yassine is] a good player and has got bags of ability. We just need to make sure that we can bring that out in him and help him develop and kick him on. Hopefully he adds to us at the end of the season.

“[Kameron] can play full-back or left side of centre-back if needs be. He has a great left peg and has a good engine. He’ll provide good competition for us.”

But for now, Shels head into a pivotal stage of the season, with games against UCD and Galway, both away from home, fast approaching as they look to maintain their unbeaten league record.

“Anytime you have something you want to hold onto you hold onto it and you fight tooth and nail to keep it going.

“We’re nine points clear with ten games to go, and it’s been good. We just need to pull up our socks now and go to UCD and pick up three points.”

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