Shamrock Rovers goal hero Rory Gaffney refused to get carried away with his last-gasp winner against Shelbourne at Tallaght Stadium, as his side took another big step towards the league title.
Gaffney struck deep into injury time to give Rovers a crucial 3-2 victory over their Dublin rivals and move them even closer to their third consecutive league.
Only 10 minutes earlier it looked like Derry City would remain within two points of Rovers, after Shane Farrell's brilliant brace gave Shelbourne a 2-1 lead with minutes of normal time to go.
However, Daniel Cleary popped up in the box to score his second of the game before Gaffney stole the show deep in injury-time to restore the Hoops’ lead to five points with four games remaining.
"We kept plugging at it," Gaffney said afterwards. "I thought we weren’t going to get a chance and thankfully we did.
"It’s been a tough couple of weeks for us, but we obviously back ourselves. It's probably just tired bodies at the minute, but we just have to keep going.
"With three or four weeks left just have to get our work done.
"The league is our bread and butter it’s the most important thing. Europe is great but it’s just a bonus at the end of the day.
"If we don’t win the league we won’t have the same opportunity next season."
"We just have to keep ticking the league games off. It’s a cup final each week."
Gaffney paid tribute to Shelbourne and admitted that every time Rovers have faced them this season, they’ve had problems.
"They’re young, they’re fit, they’re hungry," he said. "You can tell they’re well organised and they know what they’re doing.
"Of all the games this season, Shelbourne have caused us the most trouble."
Shels manager Damien Duff cut a frustrated figure at the final whistle and he questioned the amount of time added on by the referee after normal time had elapsed.
The fourth official had signalled a minimum of four added minutes at the end of the match and Gaffney’s goal came on 94:38, which irked the Shelbourne manager, who also questioned the decision to award Rovers that late cornerkick.
"It’s definitely two points lost," Duff told RTÉ. It’s another hard luck story, that’s what I’m telling the guys in there. I’m sick of them and they have to stop but I couldn’t be prouder of them.
"Four minutes added on, it ended up 96-and-a-half minutes the game is still going on, absolutely incredible. I don’t think it’s a corner, I think it’s a free kick.
"If I was to air my views about officials and stuff that goes on in this league, I won’t be on the touchline next week.
"I’m very proud to manage Shelbourne Football Club and I want to be on the touchline next week. I cannot wait. I’m looking forward to it already.
"I’m proud to manage Shelbourne. Big disappointment here today but hopefully it’s a different story next Sunday."
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