Fresh from running Cork City off their feet in last week's big showdown between the leaders, St Patrick's Athletic got a taste of their own medicine at Tolka Park last night. In a frantic match the champions were reduced to 10 men and still managed to come from behind. At that stage they even looked like stealing the rest of the points but Rovers held their nerve and a Willie Burke own goal 15 minutes from time gave them their third league win of the season.
It didn't come without a fight. Well more like several tussles, with a number of rough-looking challenges being followed by some tough-looking confrontation amongst the players but little enough by way of action from referee John McDermott. When he did actively intervene, it was to punish Packie Lynch, whose challenge on Mark O'Neill midway through the first half certainly didn't looked like a sending-off offence. But off he went and while his team-mates attempted to reorganise, the blow was compounded by a goal from O'Neill that followed good work on either wing by Brian Morrisroe and then Matt Britton.
The visitors soldiered on until the break but, having been forced to adopt a flat back four, their midfield looked a very different machine to the one that had taken the leaders to the cleaners a week ago.
Liam Buckley sorted a few of his side's problems out during the break. With Trevor Molloy in outstanding form again, Burke slotted into the centre of the defence which allowed the wing backs to do their stuff again. All of that, combined with a sudden tendency on the part of Rovers to defend terribly deep inside their own half, had the effect of breathing life right back into the contest.
The Saints should have drawn level just five minutes into the second period when Stephen McGuinness's low pass was left by Molloy for Martin Russell whose shot flew just the wrong side of the left-hand post. They didn't have to wait long afterwards, though, with Russell and Molloy combining again for the young striker to force Gino Brazil into heading home an own goal. At that point it seemed that Rovers might have to ride their luck to get away with the point, particularly when, eight minutes later, Molloy finished a wonderful move forward with a turn and shot that was just wide of the target.
Back came Rovers, though, with Mick Byrne altering the balance of the game again with the introduction of Billy Woods and Tommy Dunne. Colin Hawkins and, yet again, Molloy still managed to go close for the champions over the closing stages but by then there was an increasingly desperate air about their search for an equaliser, Burke's mishap after Tony Cousins had upset Trevor Wood's attempt to intercept Marc Kenny's cross, having handed Rovers their first win over their Inchicore-based rivals for four seasons.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: O'Dowd; Whelan, Palmer, Brazil; Britton, Kenny, O'Neill, Colwell, Tracey; Cousins, Morrisroe. Subs: Woods for O'Neill (67 mins), Dunne for Kenny (86 mins).
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Wood; McGuinness, Lynch, Hawkins; Croly, Gormley, Osam, Russell, Doyle; Molloy, Gilzean. Subs: Burke for Gilzean (half-time), Reilly for Russell (85 mins).
Referee: J McDermott (Dublin).
