Rory Gaffney scored the opener for Shamrock Rovers Credit: David Ribeiro (ETPhotos)
Shamrock Rovers stay top after 3-1 away win in Waterford
Waterford 1 (Amond 10’)
Shamrock Rovers 3 (Gaffney 25’, Noonan 76’, Burke 90+3’)
Patrick O’ Connor reports from the RSC Waterford
Shamrock Rovers scored three goals and claimed all three points for the second consecutive week when they dismissed the stern challenge posed by Waterford by three goals to one at the RSC on Friday night.
Rovers were also gifted a goal for the second consecutive week and while it was of no consequence in their previous game, it played a critical part in this victory and allowed them consolidate their place at the top of the league table.
The win now makes it five games unbeaten, the only team with such a record in the Premier Division, and it puts them in pole position to be league leaders as we head into the mid-season break at the end of the month.
Waterford for their part lost their four-game unbeaten run but they will feel hard done by as they more than matched Rovers in effort and application for the 98 minutes of action at the Cork Road venue.
The Blues started the game in a very positive fashion and took a well-deserved lead in the 10th minute through Padraig Amond.
After patient build up play, left back Ryan Burke floated in a perfect cross and Amond took a step ahead of Pico Lopes at the right time and headed the ball into the top left corner of the net for a classic centre forward’s goal.
The Hoops almost got an equaliser in the 23rd minute when Josh Honohan played a lovely ball through to Aaron Greene who was through one-on-one with keeper Stephen McMullan, but the 20-year-old Armagh youngster did extremely well to take the ball off Greene’s foot just as he was about to pull the trigger.
The reprieve was short lived however as two minutes later Rovers equalised.
It was a simple end line pass from Greene to fellow striker Rory Gaffney in the 25th minute that allowed the Galway man find the corner of the net to make it all square at the break.
The Blues continued to go toe-to-toe with the Hoops in the second half but never really troubled Ed McGinty in goals apart from a few corners and free kicks.
The turning point in the game came in the 77th minute when keeper McMullan gift wrapped a second goal to Rovers to the dismay of the home supporters.
Burke played a back pass to McMullan who was under no real pressure but he miskicked his clearance along the ground, the ball arrived at the feet of substitute Michal Noonan who gleefully rolled the ball into an empty net from 20 meters.
It was an unfortunate error by McMullan who otherwise had an excellent game but it turned the tide in favour of the visitors and also deflated the home side who created little for the rest of the game.
The oft quoted strength in depth of the Rovers squad was clearly evident late on as another second half substitute wrapped up the points with a third goal in the 93rd minute.
Waterford’s Navajo Bakboord was dispossessed by Honohan and the Corkman capped a memorable week for himself having earned an Ireland call up with a slide rule pass and assist for Graham Burke to steer the ball past McMullan to make it 3-1, game well and truly over at this stage.
Waterford: Stephen McMullan; Ryan Burke, Grant Horton, Darragh Leahy, Kacper Radkowski (Navajo Bakboord 60); Sam Glenfield, Dean McMenamy (Rowan McDonald 60), James Olayinka (Maarten Pouwels 93), Kyle White; Padraig Amond, Thomas Lonergan.
Subs not used: Jason Healy, Bradley Wade, Sean Keane, Adam Queally, Zak O'Sullivan, Bobby Keohan.
Booked: Dean McMenamy (15), Rowan McDonald (77)
Shamrock Rovers: Edward McGinty; Lee Grace, Pico, Cory O'Sullivan; Jack Byrne (Graham Burke 75), Joshua Honohan, Adam Matthews, Darragh Nugent (John O'Sullivan 68), Gary O'Neill (Matthew Healy 68); Rory Gaffney ( Michael Noonan 68), Aaron Greene (Cian Barrett 88)
Subs not used: Léon-Maurice Pöhls, Trevor Clarke, Daniel Grant, Victor Ozhianvuna.
Booked: Cory O'Sullivan (30).
Referee: Aaron O'Dowd.
Attendance: 3,321
extratime.com Player of the Match: Josh Honohan (Shamrock Rovers)
— extratime.com (@extratime.com) 17 May 2025 at 08:32
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