Greg Bolger and Sean Kavanagh delivered when it mattered most to ensure Shamrock Rovers stay in the Premier Division title hunt with Dundalk.
Stephen Bradley’s charges responded emphatically to losing on their own patch against the Lilywhites with a controlled display at Richmond Park. The goal tally might not show it but Rovers were dominant from start to finish.
It was the Hoops who clicked into gear quickest and, had they found their attacking stride properly, they could well have had this Dublin derby dead and buried inside the opening 20 minutes. Instead, it took Bolger bursting into the Pat’s box on the stroke of half-time to break the deadlock.
His momentum carried him through but, rather than lose his head in a position alien to him, he calmly finished beyond Brendan Clarke.
Half-time came and went but there was no response from the Saints. Instead, Rovers put the game beyond doubt when Kavanagh deftly found the far corner from just outside the right side of the box.
European football will soon beckon for both of these clubs but it is Rovers who look as if they might still be able to deliver a challenge on the domestic front.
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