Matchday 12 Review

An overview of all the results from matchday 12 in the premier division.

We discussed the topic of an all-island league on our Podcast !!! Give it a listen, and if you enjoy it, make sure to give it a rating to let us know how we are getting on :)

Dundalk 2 - 1 Shelbourne

Our featured game for matchday 12 was a trip up to Oriel Park. Unfortunately, this was a feisty encounter where the referee lost control of the game early on. The first half was not very entertaining until the last couple of minutes of the half, when Shane Griffin was awarded a second yellow after pulling back a Dundalk player on the counterattack. However, the first yellow was incredibly soft. This caused animosity on the Shelbourne bench, where Duff was expressing his dislike of the decision; whatever Duffer had said, the referee, in reply, sent him to the stands. The second half was shaping up to be a good one.

The second half lived up to expectation, with Stephen Bradley off Dundalk getting sent off just before the hour mark. A couple of minutes before this, Jack Moylan nutmegged Darragh Leahy to carry the ball into the box, where he was then pushed in the back, but no penalty was awarded. After not being marked by a defender, Dundalk got the opener through a Dan Kelly volley in the box. Shels grew into the game and applied all the pressure, where this was rewarded when JR Wilson intercepted a clearance from a Dundalk player in the box, and a penalty was awarded for Shels. Shane Farrel buried the ball into the top left corner, which sent the away end into bedlam. Unfortunately for the reds, straight from the kick-off, Dundalk worked the ball out to the wing where Keith Ward delivered a world of a cross into the shels box, where John Martin scored from a glancing header to the back post. The atmosphere was tense, Referee lost control of the game via inconsistent decision making, but Dundalk should be thrilled with this result being the first team to beat a travelling Shelbourne side.

Bohemians 1 - 3 Shamrock Rovers

The Dublin Derby. As always, a packed house. Unfortunately for Bohs, again, former players are coming back to haunt them in this famous fixture. This time Bohs academy graduate Andy Lyons opened the scoring for rovers in just the 4th minute from a scrappy corner, and the Rovers lead then doubled in the 35th minute via a shocking Max murphy misplaced clearance from a Jack Byrne cross, which resulted in an OG. 2-0 at the break.

Bohs started exceptionally well in the second half with an urgency to get a goal. In the 68th minute, Dawson Devoy tested Alan Manus with a long-range effort but parried it straight into the path of Bohs striker Junior who slotted the ball home to make it 2-1. But straight from the kick-off, Rovers lofted the ball into the Bohs half, who failed in clearing the ball, which then dropped in. Daniel Mandriou slotted the ball home to restore Rovers 2 goal lead. The final result was 3-1 Rovers, and now only 1 point behind Derry.

Derry City 7 - 1 UCD

A Jamie McGonigle hat-trick keeps the candy stripes at the premier division's top. A very regular performance for Derry, who primarily operated at a training pace for the whole game. Other goal scorers include Dummigan from a long-range effort, McJanet, who has just recently signed a new contract with Derry after his excellent start to the season, and Will Patching taking his tally to 6 of the season and Ronan Boyce also got in on the goal. Alex Nolan is the goal scorer for UCD, who is still winless this season.