Sligo Rovers 0-2 Shamrock Rovers
Brandon Miele and Danny North were on the mark for Shamrock Rovers as they defeated nine-man Sligo Rovers 2-0 at the Showgrounds in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.
Pat Felon's side captured the lead in the 42nd minute when Miele's free-kick from distance curled beyond the reach of a helpless Micheál Schlingermann in the Sligo goal.
The home side had Kieran Sadlier dismissed in injury time at the end of the opening half, while Craig Roddan suffered a similar fate midway through the second half after he was shown his second yellow for a foul on Gary McCabe.
The Dublin side sealed the win in the 90th minute when North neatly tucked the ball beyond Schlingermann having been teed up by the impressive Miele.
The home side had started well and showed attacking intent early on. Two of Sligo’s eight debutants - Jimmy Keohane and Sadlier - both registered early chances for the Bit O'Red inside the first five minutes, but Hoops goalkeeper Barry Murphy was comfortable on both occasions.
Michael Drennan shot straight at Schlingermann on nine minutes, before the home side had full back Tobi Adebayo-Rowling to thank three minutes later when he cleared Drennan's goal-bound effort off the Sligo line from a dangerous Killian Brennan cross.
North had the ball in the Sligo net on 20 minutes as he stabbed home a Miele effort from distance which Schlingermann could only palm away. However, the Grimsby native had strayed into an offside position.
Miele opened the scoring three minutes from the break. His well-hit effort caught out a poorly positioned Schlingermann, who was unable to reach the ball as it sailed low to his right and into the bottom corner.
Sligo's already uphill task was made that bit more difficult one minute into injury time at the end of the first half when they were reduced to ten men as Sadlier caught Brennan's ankle with his studs. That resulted in a straight red for the former Republic of Ireland underage international.
Sligo's West Ham loanee Jaanai Gordon skied an effort from the angle just short of the hour as the Connacht side tried in vain to claw their way back into this tie.
Schlingermann got down to block away Dean Clarke's low shot from wide moments later after the former Limerick man skipped by Adebayo-Rowling's challenge at the edge of the box.
Sligo's ill-discipline got the worst of them once more on 74 minutes when they were reduced to nine, with Roddan dismissed for a second bookable offence after an altercation with Gary McCabe while both players challenged for a loose ball.
Shamrock Rovers substitute Gary Shaw dragged his effort wide of the Sligo goal on 81 minutes as the Tallaght outfit looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
Miele should have done better with his chance just after that as he found himself in space inside the Sligo area, but the Dubliner could only wastefully smash the ball straight at a grateful Schlingermann.
The Mayo man denied Miele once more on 88 minutes when he blocked down the striker's attempted chip after North had played his team-mate through on goal.
North sealed the win on the stroke of full-time. Miele broke between Sligo centre-half pairing of Tim Clancy and Mick Leahy before squaring for the unmarked North who tucked the ball past Schlingermann and into the far corner.
Sligo Rovers: Micheál Schlingermann; Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Michael Leahy, Tim Clancy, Regan Donelon; Kieran Sadlier, Craig Roddan, Jordan Richards, Jimmy Keohane; Phil Roberts (for Chris Lyons 85), Jaanai Gordon (for Liam Martin 77).
Shamrock Rovers: Barry Murphy; Simon Madden, David O'Connor, Maxime Blanchard, Gavin Brennan; Gary McCabe (for Gary Shaw 78), Michael Drennan, Brandon Miele, Killian Brennan, Dean Clarke (for Patrick Cregg 72); Danny North.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin.
