SHAMROCK ROVERS 3-2 DUNDALK
Mick McCarthy and Terry Connors will have surely filled a notepad (or three) at Tallaght Stadium tonight.
Shamrock Rovers are top of the SSE Airtricity League after coming from 2-1 down to beat the champions 3-2 in a thrilling encounter played out in steady rain in front of a rapt audience. Jordan Flores scored a
Puskas-Award-nominee-in-waiting but Jack Burne settled the tie with a tasty finish of his own.
Every one of the 7,522 fans in attendance at Tallaght Stadium were treated to a cracking encounter with two of the finest goals you will see anywhere in the footballing world this weekend.
Dylan Watts opened the scoring for Rovers after 20 minutes but Dundalk drew level with a sensational volley from Jordan Flores. He extended his left peg to dispatch a glorious volley and temporarily silence the home crowd.
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Patrick Hoban put Dundalk 2-1 ahead after 63 minutes but Stephen Bradley's side would not be denied and they stormed back into the match.
Jack Byrne's corner kick, eight minutes later, found the head of Ricardo Lopes and the game was back in the mixer at 2-2. Given the enthralling game that had already played out, it would take something special to settle this tie.
On 83 minutes, up stepped Byrne. He stepped Chris Shields outside the Dundalk box and curled home a beauty from 25 yards out.
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Rovers held on to claim the victory that sees them extend their league lead, over Dundalk and the chasing pack, to three points.
Following the game, Byrne dedicated the win to the late mother of Rovers teammate Gary O'Neill and lavished praise on Dundalk goalscorer Jordan Flores.
He told RTE Sport:
"Yeah, Dundalk are the champions for a reason. They're a top side.
"I played with Jordan at Wigan and I know how good he is. He's an unbelievable footballer, so I was seeing trouble when the ball dropped to him at the edge of the box.
"I can't say much about the strike; we couldn't have done much about it. It was just one of those things."
Game clearly respects game.
