Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk played out a tense and hard-fought scoreless draw at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night in front of a crowd of 4,167 people.
A point apiece was a result that both managers would probably have taken before the game and, on the balance of things, it was probably the correct outcome.
Dundalk had the clearest openings to take all three. Sean Hoare’s first-half header kissed the crossbar and they also had a Sean Gannon penalty appeal waved away late on.
After yet another Dublin derby loss to Bohemians on Monday night, Rovers will be happy to have taken something from the game but Stephen Bradley will no doubt rue a chance that Orhan Vojic fluffed with the game in its infancy.
With Robbie Benson and Patrick McEleney out with long term injuries, Lilywhites head coach Vinny Perth was happy to have Sean Murray at his disposal but he lost John Mountney to an injury in the warm-up, his place going to Daniel Kelly.
Bradley reshuffled his midfield after Monday night’s defeat at Dalymount Park and the hosts, with Greg Bolger dictating in front of his backline, controlled possession for much of the opening half an hour.
Their only chance came early on, however, and It was a big one. Trevor Clarke and Joel Coustrain were the architects, the latter’s knockdown falling into the path of Vojic but the Austrian striker couldn’t beat Gary Rogers who did well to touch it over the top. The miss seemed to unsettle the 22-year-old striker who struggled to make an impression after that.
Despite failing to really impose themselves on things, it was the champions who fashioned the clearest openings. Seventeen minutes had elapsed when Hoare outmuscled a Rovers defender to meet a Duffy free but his header looped off Alan Mannus’ crossbar with Bolger getting Dane Massey's follow-up to safety.
Kelly, whose head to head with Rovers left-back Trevor Clarke was one of the intriguing subplots to the night, offered Dundalk pace and trickery and he went close with a right-footed drive that flashed just wide of the upright.
With Aaron McEneff playing deep, Rovers lacked a cutting edge in the final third and Dundalk, who were much better in the final 15 minutes of the half, passed up another opening in stoppage time when Patrick Hoban beat Lee Grace to a devilish Duffy cross only to see his header clear the bar.
Dundalk started the second half by squeezing Rovers at every opportunity and it disrupted the home side’s attempts to build from the back. As a result, Perth’s team enjoyed large spells of territorial possession but Mannus stayed relatively trouble free.
Bradley introduced Dan Carr and he gave them a presence they badly missed. Chances arrived with Rogers getting down well to deal with a Clarke drive in the 62nd minute and three minutes later the home support were baying for a penalty when Finn’s cross looked to have come off the outstretched arm of Hoare but referee Paul McLaughlin was non-plussed.
Neither side looked like winning it in the latter stages but the Dundalk bench were on their feet in the 89th minute when Gannon went down under pressure from Bolger but McLaughlin, again, had none of the appeals and the game finished in stalemate.
Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Joey O’Brien, Roberto Lopes, Lee Grace, Trevor Clarke; Greg Bolger, Ronan Finn; Joel Coustrain (Brandon Kavanagh 82), Aaron McEneff, Jack Byrne (Sean Kavanagh 90); Orhan Vojic (Dan Carr 57).
Dundalk: Gary Rogers; Sean Gannon, Brian Gartland, Sean Hoare, Dane Massey; Chris Shields, Sean Murray (Joe McKee 81); Daniel Kelly (Cameron Dummigan 90), Jamie McGrath, Michael Duffy; Patrick Hoban (Georgie Kelly 87).
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
