SHAMROCK ROVERS   1
SPORTING FINGAL   1

SHAMROCK Rovers and Sporting Fingal cancelled each other out with late goals last night in an entertaining Premier Division clash
at Tallaght Stadium.
Gary Twigg's late strike ensured Rovers took all three points from their trip to the league's other promoted side, UCD, a week earlier and
the striker almost seperated the sides again, this time in the opening minutes.
In only the third minute the Scot had the presence of mind and sharpness to flick Craig Sives' goalbound header from a Chambers corner on to the crossbar, but
was denied an easy finish from the rebound when Shaun Williams cleared the danger.
Sporting came into the game in fourth place and looking to move level on points with st Pat's in third and only one point behind their hosts, but were unlucky to see
Alan Kirby's 10th minute shot from the edge of the area deflect off team-mate Gary O'Neill.
Maher, the hero at the other end when the roles were reversed in the
opening minutes, saw his header crash off the crossbar following Shaun Williams' delivery from a short corner as Sporting almost grabbed the lead.

If the first-half was only starting to warm up when the break arrived, the second period burst into life in dramatic fashion almost immediately when a double save from goalkeeper Alan Mannus
denied Sporting a certain lead minutes in.
Byrne again caused the problems down the right and his low cross into the middle looked to have given Gary O'Neill the easiest of finishes from three yards, but Mannus
blocked his effort and grasped the rebound at the second time of asking.
Unhappy with his side's failure to assert themselves in the early stages of the half, Rovers boss Michael O'Neill brought on veteran Dessie Baker for midfielder Stephen Bradley
and within seconds the striker played in Twigg, only for the marksman to fire narrowly wide.
Baker looked like being the catalyst for Rovers' success when his flick minutes later set Stewart on his way towards goal, where he tested Quigley with a long-range shot, but more importantly
lifted the mood of the home support.

Sporting, however, had other ideas and it took a contender for save of the decade from Mannus, again from close range, to deny O'Neill for the second time after Byrne's deep
cross from the right was headed back across goal by the striker.
Moving in the oppossite direction, the goalkeeper somehow managed to stick out a strong hand and deflect the effort over.
 
The only surprise to the home side snatching what looked like another late winner was that Twigg missed the target with his own chance just before Chambers rose highest in a crowded area
 to head home Baker's corner on 86 minutes.
Incredibly, the lead barely lasted 60 seconds as the home side failed to clear a corner and Kirby's fired across the face of the goal for substitute Glenn Crowe to head in at the back post.
Full deserving of their equalizer after an impressive night's work, the visitors could have took all three points, but within seconds of the leveller, their other second-half substitute
Kevin Dawson headed into the ground and over at the back post from Byrne's deep cross.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: A Mannus; P Flynn, C Sives, D Murray, D Murphy; J Chambers, S Bradley (D Baker 57), R Bayly, B Dennehy (S O'Connor 67) ; G Twigg, T Stewart (S Rice 74).
SPORTING FINGAL: D Quigley; G O'Brien, L Fitzgerald, S Williams, S Maher, K Browne, C Byrne, R Finn, G O'Neill (G Crowe 67), A Kirby, K Quinn (K Dawson 85).
Referee: A Kelly.
ATT: 3479