Shamrock Rovers 3-0 Bohemians
Report: Ryan McMullen
A dominant display by the Hoops as they comfortably secured all 3 points against Bohemians in the Dublin derby in Tallaght.
Stephen Bradley made 2 changes from his side that beat Dundalk last Friday with Estonian international Markus Poom returning to the team ahead of Dylan Watts in addition to Richie Towell coming in for Liam Burt.
Both sides took their time to settle into the game but after the opening 10 minutes, it was the Hoops who began to take full control of possession and started to create the first opportunities.
The first chance of the game came for Rovers when Lee Grace found the ball at the back post following a corner, Grace hit a half volley but it was saved by James Talbot in goal for Bohemians.
39 minutes in Markus Poom had an opportunity for himself. The ball fell to him inside the box and he decided to take a shot which forced Talbot to get down to his right-hand side and deny the effort, Talbot however couldn’t hold on to it and the ball went out to Ronan Finn but his rebound shot went over the crossbar.
Not long after, the Hoops found the breakthrough. A pinpoint Markus Poom delivery from a corner was headed home by Lee Grace to put the Hoops in front
The home side were going into the break with a deserved advantage after an impressive first-half performance.
Just after half-time Rovers doubled their lead through captain Ronan Finn. Rory Gaffney picked the ball up on the left-hand side of the box and carried it forward into space before chipping a ball into Finn whose first touch looked to have taken him away from goal but the skipper adjusted to fire back across Talbot into the top corner of the net to extend the home sides advantage.
Rovers were playing with confidence and continued to dominate following the goal with some impressive play from Graham Burke in particular.
With 10 minutes remaining, Neil Farrugia returned from injury to replace Sean Kavanagh, and it didn’t take long for the wide man to make an impact. Farrugia picked up a loose ball in the box before curling beyond Talbot into the top corner to make it 3-0 in front of the South Stand in what was the pick of the bunch.
An excellent night’s work for the Hoops who exerted full control and dominance in a fixture that is so often tight and cagey.
Rovers will look to continue their good run of form in two weeks’ time (September 15th) when they face Derry City with kick-off set for 7:45 pm at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
Shamrock Rovers: Mannus, Cleary, Lopes, Grace, Finn © (Clarke 70’), Poom, O’Neill, Kavanagh (Farrugia 80’), Towell (Watts 83’), Burke (Nugent 80’), Gaffney (Kenny 70’).
Shamrock Rovers unused substitutes: Pohls, Hoare, Power, Burt.
Bohemians: Talbot, Buckley ©, Nowak, Radkowski, Kirk (McManus 60’), McDonnell, Flores, Connolly, Clarke, Grant (Coote 70’), Afolabi.
Bohemians unused substitutes: Dennison, Kukulowicz, Holzman, McDaid, O’Sullivan, Twardek, Byrne.
