Sligo Rovers second best as the champions take charge in Tallaght meeting

SLIGO Rovers suffered a second consecutive defeat as the Bit O’Red were beaten by a far superior Shamrock Rovers side at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night.

The Hoops were in control of this tie from the very start, allowing Sligo Rovers very little time on the ball.

The Hoops were leading 1-0 at the half way point, with the Tallaght side adding two further goals in the second half.

The Bit O’Red came into tonight’s game looking for their first win at Tallaght Stadium since 2021 when Romeo Parkes’ 55th minute goal was the difference.

The Hoops have recovered from a tough start to the campaign, in which they went four games without a win.

The two sides drew in their first meeting earlier this campaign, with Sligo Rovers feeling as though it was a game they should have won.

Russell’s side were beaten by St Patrick’s Athletic in their last day out, and their hopes of bouncing back were dashed when Saturday’s meeting with Galway United was postponed as a result of Storm Kathleen.

The Tallaght side were beaten by Pats in their last game, with the hosts also hoping to bounce back from that game.

Stephen Bradley made one change to the side that lost to Pats with Gary O’Neill replacing Sean Hoare.

Sligo Rovers also made one change to the side that was beaten by Pats, with Nando Pijnaker out for the forseeable with broken ribs.

Charlie Wiggett came into centre-back in his place, while JR Wilson returned from injury.

Ed McGinty was also passed fit to play after sustaining whiplash like injuries after he collided with his team-mate Pijnaker in that collision.

Both sides were tied on 12 points before tonight’s game, with Sligo Rovers in fourth and Shamrock Rovers in fifth.

There was a five minute delay to kick-off, in what was a protest from referees across the country.

Fabrice Hartmann was making a nuisance of himself from early on, but it was the Hoops that started this game brightest, which in truth is no surprise given the players at their disposal.

Ed McGinty had to make a save after five minutes when Darragh Burns couldn’t direct his shot away from the Oxford loanee.

His opposite number Leon Pohls was called into action on seven minutes when Reece Hutchinson had a go from the left.

The home side took control of the game from early on, with Sligo Rovers forced to spend large periods of the first half in their own half defending.

And, as soon as the Dubliners had control of the game, the visitors struggled to hold onto possession.

There were chances aplenty for the Hoops, but the Bit O’Red’s defence was proving tricky to beat.

A fabulous 18th minute free-kick from Graham Burke was dipping, but a deflection forced it wide.

A great save from McGinty denied Markus Poom on 20 minutes, before JR Wilson found himself in the right place at the right time as he was well positioned on the line to make the clearance as Burke tried to tap it in.

Hartmann almost netted an own goal after the half hour mark, but the RB Leipzig loanee was able to breathe a sigh of relief as it just looped over the bar.

Another super save seconds later from McGinty ensured that the game stayed scoreless, but not for long.

Two minutes later, the home fans were celebrating as Burke’s stunning effort from 20 yards curled into the top corner – nothing more than they deserved.

Seconds later, Burke spotted an opportunity as he attempted an audacious lob from the centre circle with McGinty off his line, but more power was needed to beat the Sligo Rovers netminder from that distance.

The Sligo attackers were feeding off scraps, but the Hoops’ defence was able to quickly clean up a misunderstanding at the back on 38 minutes as the Bit O’Red failed to capitalise.

The arrival of half-time will have come as relief to John Russell, whose side were second best for the opening 45 minutes.

But, they found themselves further behind on 50 minutes when the league champions extended their lead, as former Sligo Rovers player Aaron Greene made it 2-0.

Pohls was largely a spectator for the second half, but did have to make a save on 63 minutes as Ellis Chapman got his head to a cross.

Straight from that kick-out, the Hoops made it 3-0 as Greene used his pace to get on the end of a long ball from defence and fought his way in behind the Bit O’Red defence, firing with power past McGinty from an awkward angle to put this game further beyond Sligo Rovers.

Russell changed his front four on 76 minutes, bringing on Wilson Waweru, Kailin Barlow, Owen Elding and Rein Smit.

And Dutch striker Smit could have pulled one back for the visitors on 77 minutes as he ran onto a ball, charging forward at goal, but he lost his footing inside the box before he had the opportunity to shoot at goal.

The feet of Ed McGinty denied Towell a fourth for the league champions on 81 minutes who were able to play keep ball as the game came to a close.

A great save from Pohls denied Owen Elding in the dying stages, as close as the visitors would come to hitting the net all evening.

Sligo Rovers face a busy weekend next weekend when they take on both Dundalk and Galway United at home.

Shamrock Rovers: Leon Pohls, Joshua Honohan (Cian Barrett, 79), Roberto Lopes, Dan Cleary, Darragh Nugent (Johnny Kenny, 67), Gary O’Neill (Trevor Clarke, 67), Markus Poom, Dylan Watts (Conan Noonan, 70), Darragh Burns, Graham Burke (Richie Towell, 67), Aaron Greene.

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty, JR Wilson, Charlie Wiggett, Ollie Denham, Reece Hutchinson, Connor Malley, Niall Morahan, Ellis Chapman (Kailin Barlow, 76), Will Fitzgerald (Rein Smit, 76), Fabrice Hartmann (Owen Elding, 76), Max Mata (Wilson Waweru, 76).

Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan.