- Dave Donnelly
- Fri, Sep 25 2015
Gavin Brennan scored one and created a second for Danny North as Shamrock Rovers ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over Galway United at Tallaght Stadium.
The home side produced a suffocating performance that starved their guests of possession and any real attacking threat, with the senior Brennan and Brandon Miele – who signed a contract extension during a week – rampant on their respective wings.
Hoops boss Pat Fenlon will be disappointed his side's dominance wasn't reflected more accurately on the scoreboard with table-toppers Dundalk potentially visiting Tallaght in two weeks' time with the possibility of securing a second successive league title.
Galway, meanwhile, slump to a perilous tenth position in the table following Drogheda United's draw with Bohemians, meaning a win of any sort for Sligo Rovers on Saturday will sink the Tribesman into a relegation play-off spot with just five games remaining.
Fenlon made three changes following the unconvincing midweek win over Bray Wanderers, with Pat Cregg, Ryan Brennan and Danny North preferred to Stephen McPhail, Gary McCabe and Damien Duff.
Galway boss Tommy Dunne also made three changes, each of them enforced. Ryan Connolly and Jason Molloy were all injured in the EA Sports Cup final loss on Saturday, and Marc Ludden suspended, meaning starts for Cormac Raftery, David O'Leary and Conor Barry.
An uneventful opening period, punctuated by a slight injury concern for Conor Kenna, after he took a heavy blow blocking an Enda Curran volley, saw the visitors contain their hosts with relative ease, but gradually the Hoops began to turn their control of possession into chances.
Brandon Miele registered the first shot on target midway through the first period after Galway captain Paul Sinnott was caught in possession by Danny North, but he could only shoot straight at goalkeeper Conor Winn.
Sinnott redeemed himself by charging down two Mikey Drennan shots in quick succession, before Danny North came agonisingly close to opening the scoring with a sweetly struck volley from inside the box, but could only shave the outside of the post after controlling Miele's cross.
Enda Curran was Galway's solo attacking outlet in the first half, with top scorer Jake Keegan tied up helping inexperienced full-back Raftery keep tabs on the marauding Miele, and he wasted the Tribesmen's only real chance when he turned inside Max Blanchard before ballooning his shot over the bar.
The goal, when it came, was of little surprise in itself, though the circumstances were as Brennan, after seeing his shot touched onto the post by Winn, had just enough time to sit upright before nodding the ball into the now unguarded net.
Rovers should have finished the game as a contest moments later as Miele was set free down the left hand side and bore down on goal, but an excellent stop from Winn diverted the ball away from goal and the arriving North.
Galway should have equalised shortly after the restart when Gary Shanahan found space in behind David O'Connor and squared an inviting ball for Enda Curran but, under pressure from Kenna, the former Mervue United striker couldn't get a meaningful touch on it.
Normal service resumed thereafter as Drennan headed over from Miele's cross, before taking a lovely lobbed pass from Cregg and holding off Cantwell to drill into the side-netting from a tight angle. Cregg shot narrowly wide moments later after latching onto a poor defensive header from Raftery.
Eventually the pressure told, and it was Gavin Brennan once more at the fore as he caught Cantwell in possession just outside the Galway box and had the presence and unselfishness of mind to give up the chance to pass across Winn for North to finish into the empty net.
North could scarcely believe he didn't double his tally when, after Winn had again done brilliantly to stop Drennan's close-range shot, the Englishman managed to bundle the ball over the bar from all of two yards under pressure from Oji.
Former Ireland internationals Damien Duff and Stephen McPhail were introduced for the final 10 minutes with Fenlon assured of the three points, to the delight of a French television crew who had arrived to film with a life-sized cut out of Thierry Henry in tow.
They weren't to see a moment of magic from Ireland's centurion, though they were witness to a late lung-bursting run from Galway substitute Conor Melody that merited more than the routine save it drew from Barry Murphy.
Shamrock Rovers: Barry Murphy; Simon Madden, Conor Kenna, Max Blanchard, David O'Connor; Pat Cregg, Ryan Brennan (Stephen McPhail 80), Gavin Brennan, Brandon Miele (Damien Duff 80); Mikey Drennan, Danny North (Gareth McCaffrey 86).
Subs not used: Craig Hyland, David Webster, Gary McCabe, Dylan Kavanagh
Booked: None.
Galway United: Conor Winn; Cormac Raftery, Sam Oji, Killian Cantwell, Colm Horgan; Paul Sinnott, David O'Leary, Conor Barry (Toni Saarelm 60), Gary Shanahan (Conor Melody 74); Jake Keegan, Enda Curran (Andy O'Connell).
Subs not used: Ger Hanley (gk), Aaron McConnell.
Booked: None.
Referee: Anthony Buttimer.
Attendance: 2,000 (estimate).
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Gavin Brennan (Shamrock Rovers).
