Goals from Danny Grant and substitute Aaron Greene gave Shamrock Rovers all three points against a game Galway United at Tallaght Stadium.
Galway's wait for an away win at Rovers now stretches back some seventeen years.
Tribes manager John Caulfield was forced to watch proceedings from the stands, serving a suspension having been sent off in the Monday night win over Waterford.
However, without setting the game alight, the home side took the spoils and on the balance of play, were deserving winners with goals in either half.
Playing into the North Stand in the opening forty-five, on a pitch still showing wear and tear from the Leinster Senior Schools Rugby Cup final last Tuesday, Rovers created a tenth-minute chance for Graham Burke.
Victor Ozhianvuna played a delightful ball over the top for the former Irish international, who, in the act of shooting, was denied by a superb diving block by full-back Conor Barrett in the visitor’s area.
At the other end, goalkeeper Ed McGinty had to be at his sharpest to prevent Kris Twardek from reaching an incisive Ed McCarthy through ball, as the visitors surged at pace through the heart of the Rovers defence.
Galway looked sharp at times in the first half asking questions of the Hoops back four and a McCarthy shot from outside the area, after a decent build up, beat McGinty, but not the angle of post and crossbar.
Indeed Caulfield’s side were proving a difficult nut to crack, but having dealt with the home side well defensively, were undone five minutes before the break.
A cross from the left by Cory O’Sullivan, part of the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad to play in the European qualifiers next week, went between defenders, none of whom were willing or able to take control of the situation and Grant, all alone at the back post, hammered the ball to the net and gave Rovers a 1-0 interval lead.
Galway made a triple substitution at half time bringing on Axel Piesold, Matthew Wolfe, along with Lee Devitt and Piesold set up an early second half chance for Twardek who shot narrowly wide as Burke did likewise at the other end moments later.
Wolfe, the former Sligo Rovers midfielder, clipped the bar in the 65th minute with a fine dipping shot that deserved more.
A raft of substitutions by Stephen Bradley in the second half illustrated the ongoing strength of the Rovers bench and one of those, Aaron Greene, made the game safe four minutes from time as his left foot effort curled beyond the dive of United keeper Evan Watts to wrap up victory ahead of next week’s international break for the league.
Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty; Tunmise Sobowale (Lee Grace 71), Roberto Lopez © Cory O’Sullivan; Danny Grant, Matty Healy, Jack Byrne (John O’Sullivan 79), Adam Brennan, Victor Ozhianvuna (Michael Noonan 63), Graham Burke (Aaron Greene 63); John McGovern ((Jake Mulraney 63)
Galway United: Evan Watts; Arthur Parker (Mathew Wolfe 45), Killian Brouder, Gianfranco Facchineri Conor Barratt; Aaron Bolger, Al-Amin Kazeem (Axel Piesold 45): Edward McCarthy (Frantz Pierrot 59) David Hurley © (Lee Devitt 45), Kris Twardek; Stephen Walsh (Francely Lomboto 59).
Referee: Aaron O’Dowd
Attendance: 4,748
