SLIGO ROVERS showed their title credentials to knock Shamrock Rovers off the top-spot in the Premier Division.

Goals just before the break from Gavin Peers and in injury-time at the end from Eoin Doyle helped the home side beat the Hoops for the first time this season.

Peers headed home from a corner on 39 minutes, and Doyle wrapped up a deserved win in an absorbing contest by finishing superbly on the counter-attack in the dying minutes.

Rovers opened the scoring on 39 minutes from a Joseph Ndo set-piece, as Peers found himself completely unmarked in the area to head past Alan Mannus.

The home fans were screaming for a penalty on 53 minutes, when Blinkhorn’s cross picked out Kirby, and he combined with Doyle to set up Raffaele Cretaro.

The former Bohs man stepped inside Enda Stevens and went to ground, but referee Anthony Buttimer instead opted to book Cretaro for simulation.

Greene then saw a cross-cum-shot from the left bounce off the top of the crossbar, before O’Neill reacted by springing Twigg from the bench.

Ciaran Kilduff was also introduced soon after as the Hoops went 4-4-2, and he had strong claims for a penalty turned down on his first involvement.

He took a pass from Gary McCabe inside the area but found Peers in his way as he looked for a way through. The Hoops roared obstruction, but Buttimer was again unimpressed.

Former Sligo winger McCabe made Sligo keeper Brendan Clarke work hard to keep out his stinging free-kick with seven minutes left, but Doyle finally wrapped it up in injury-time by latching onto Dillon’s superb pass and taking the ball around Mannus before sliding it home.

SLIGO ROVERS: Clarke; Keane, Peers, McGuinness, Greene; Cretaro (Dillon 73), Ndo, Ryan, Kirby (Russell 86), Doyle; Blinkhorn.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Mannus; Sullivan, Oman, Sives, Stevens (Twigg 60); McCabe, Turner (Finn 21), Rice, McCormack, Dennehy; O’Neill (Kilduff 68).

REFEREE: A Buttimer.