Rovers lose to Shams
SHAMROCK ROVERS 1 SLIGO ROVERS 0
BRANDON Miele’s second- half strike was enough to see off Sligo Rovers at Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening.
John Russell’s first- half red card made the task all the more difficult for the Bit o’Red, who can thank the goalkeeping heroics of Micheál Schlingermann for keeping the scoreline down.
Interim manager Declan McIntyre kept faith in the side that defeated Bohemians 2- 0 at The Showgrounds last week, while Stephen Bradley brought both Miele and Darren Meenan back into the side.
Bradley’s Hoops came into this game desperate for a win following their 2- 1 defeat at the hands of Drogheda United.
The hosts looked most likely to hit the target in the early stages of the game, although the Bit o’Red did well to keep them at bay despite being reduced to ten.
Gary Shaw and Meenan threatened Schlingermann’s post early on, but it was the former Longford Town striker who really should have given the Tallaght men the lead early on.
Shaw should really have connected better with a Simon Madden cross to then nod past Schlingermann, but his effort was mis- timed.
Whatever chance Rovers had with eleven men, their task was near impossible when they were reduced to ten on 23 minutes.
John Russell gave referee Neil Doyle little option when he caught Roberto Lopes on the ankle with his studs. Doyle did not hesitate and immediately brandished a red.
Brighton loanee Jonah Ayunga had the ball in the back of the net shortly before the interval, but he was deemed offside by the linesman.
Schlingermann was called into action immediately after the restart, getting a touch to a decent effort from Graham Burke to see off the danger.
The Mayo man was eventually beaten on 48 minutes when the Dubliners took the lead.
Following nice build up play between Trevor Clake and Meenan, Miele’s strike was just placed perfectly to beat Schlingermann in goal, giving the Hoops a well deserved lead.
But for the Mayo man in goals, things could have been a lot worse for the visitors on the evening.
A string of excellent saves from the 25- year- old kept Rovers in the game, although they were struggling to break down the sturdy Hoops defence.
Schlingermann somehow got his hand to a point blank header from Burke, before putting an end to a Miele opportunity just two minutes later.
Russell’s dismissal meant Cretaro was forced to move into midfield, with Rovers struggling to threaten the goal of Tomer Chencinski.
Gary Boylan, at left back for the evening, offered Rovers their best opportunity of the second period when his dangerous ball into the box, but neither Ayunga or substitute Daniel Kearns could get on to the end of it in time.
The Rovers netminder was again forced into a vital save from a Clarke effort later on, as Stephen Bradley’s men failed to really make the most of their second half dominance.
That result means that Shamrock Rovers move up to fifth, level on points with Derry City.
Rovers sit in second bottom, four points clear of Galway in bottom spot and level on points with St. Patrick’s Athletic.
Rovers face Derry City on Saturday evening at The Showgrounds, where Kenny Shiels’ men will be hoping to find their early season form once again after three defeats on the bounce.
Shamrock Rovers: Tomer Chencinski, Simon Madden, Danny Devine ( Sam Bone, 82), David Webster, Trevor Clarke, Darren Meenan, Ronan Finn, Graham Burke, Trevor Clarke, Brandon Miele ( James Doona, 85), Gary Shaw ( Sean Boyd, 73).
Sligo Rovers: Micheál Schlingermann, Tobi Adebayo- Rowling, Kyle Callan- McFadden, Michael Leahy, Gary Boylan, Kieran Sadlier, Craig Roddan, John Russell, Liam Mar- tin ( Daniel Kearns, 72), Raffaele Cretaro ( Chris Kenny, 60), Jonah Ayunga.