4 FANTASTIC
Rovers answer manager Bradley’s criticism in some style with routine battering of Drogheda
SHAMROCK ROVERS closed the gap on leaders Shelbourne to two points last night with a dominant four-goal display against Drogheda United.
Shels boss Damien Duff, who was one of many Premier Division managers in the 3,847-strong crowd, made his way to the exit with five minutes still to play, with the damage well and truly done.
Johnny Kenny, Aaron Greene, Darragh Burns and Josh Honohan all got on the scoresheet, while Jack Keaney was wrongly shown red late on for the visitors.
It wasn’t all good news for Stephen Bradley, however, as his injury woes continued with the first-half loss of Richie Towell.
Bradley, who said last week that he would examine why so many players were succumbing to injury, was just yards from Towell when the former Dundalk midfielder hit the turf.
Towell, it appeared, went down unchallenged after sending the ball up the left-wing.
The Hoops boss is now just a goalkeeper away from a pretty fearsome injury-xi – Sean Hoare, Lee Grace, Gary O’neill; Richie Towell, Aaron Mceneff, Jack Byrne, Markus Poom, Neil Farrugia; Graham Burke, Rory Gaffney.
That every single one of them would walk into most other Premier Division teams highlights the incredible depth to this Rovers as they challenge for a historic five-in-a-row.
Bradley could still field a team last night packed with experience – and their four-goal tally could easily have been double that.
Goalscorers Kenny and Greene were lining up to take potshots at the Drogheda goal from the opening moments of a one-sided match.
It was sheer luck that the visitors didn’t concede until just before the break, with Greene hitting the post in the sixth minute with a volley from Darragh Burns’ knock-down.
Kenny, who sent the rebound wide, was off-target moments later from 20 yards, as was Trevor Clarke midway through the half after goalkeeper Jethren Barr thwarted Kenny.
A last-ditch block denied Darragh Nugent after Rovers moved the ball from right-to-left and then into the centre with ease.
And the Drogheda defence went AWOL when Dylan Watts’
36th minute corner found its way to
Darragh Burns at the back post. Luckily for the Premier Division strugglers, Burns somehow missed the target.
Burns was then denied by the outstretched right boot of South Africa international goalkeeper Barr when he raced onto Cathal Noonan’s ball over the top.
Just when it looked like Rovers would go into the break wondering how they weren’t ahead, the breakthrough finally came.
From another Watts corner, Kenny rose above Heeney and sent his header looping inside the leftsquad hand post. The hosts doubled their lead in the second minute of injury-time when a loose Oisin Gallagher pass invited Burns to pick out Greene with an inch-perfect diagonal pass.
Greene took it in his stride and drilled the ball low across Barr and inside the far upright for his seventh of the season so far.
Rovers didn’t have to wait long for the third goal. It came just seven minutes into the second-half when Greene raced down the left and slipped the ball inside to Kenny.
He waited for the right moment to spring Burns into the Drogheda area, the on-loan MK Dons man took a touch and sent his angled shot in off the underside of the crossbar.
Then a moment of controversy. The red card to Keaney wasn’t going to affect the outcome last night, but it won’t help the Boynesiders when they face St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday.
Referee Rob Hennessy ruled that the defender clipped Kenny’s heels as the striker raced towards goal, but replays indicated that there was no contact.
Just two minutes after Heeney’s dismissal, Rovers rubbed salt into Drogheda’s considerable wounds when Honohan (inset) headed home Noonan’s corner.