Second-half substitute Graham Burke popped up with a crucial winning goal for champions Shamrock Rovers as they got over their midweek European defeat with a hard-earned win over Waterford for a second time at the RSC this season in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division to move up to third.
The Tallaght outfit showed no ill-effects from their exit from the Champions League in midweek as they took up much of the early running with some clinical passing down the left yielding the breakthrough goal on eight minutes.
Jack Byrne started the move that saw him spot the run of Darragh Nugent, who in turn fed the ball into the feet of Cory O’Sullivan and in his fourth league appearance for the Hoops, he drilled a left-footed finish for his first goal of the campaign to the far corner past a helpless Louis Jones.
Although Dean McMenamy could have had the immediate response for Waterford at the other end two minutes later, he skied a shot wide of the target before Jones was called into action to make two saves in denying both Byrne and Dylan Watts.
Aaron Greene had a big opportunity to double the Rovers lead on 38 minutes when he raced onto a long ball out of defence that wasn’t dealt with by Kacper Radkowski, but the centre forward couldn’t direct his left-footed shot on target before Rowan McDonald was off target with a shot at the end a minute later.
The second half saw Waterford up the tempo in their play early doors, with Christie Pattisson feeding the ball into the feet of McMenamy out on the left on 50 minutes, but his snap left-footed shot cleared Pohls’ crossbar and within two minutes they were level.
Ryan Burke’s long throw was headed clear to McDonald, who hooked a left-footed ball into the area where Pohls failed to commit, and that saw Christie Pattisson get to the ball first to head home from close range.
It was a tale of two goalkeepers for the periods that followed. Blues keeper Jones made a massive save just past the hour mark when Nugent latched onto the ball on the left side of the area before bursting into the area, but the on-loan Doncaster Rovers netminder made a top stop with his feet.
Pohls redeemed himself on 70 minutes when Sam Glenfield won possession in the middle before spraying the ball out to the left for goalscorer Pattisson, only for his fine effort to be turned around at the near post.
A brilliant one-handed stop from Jones kept the Blues level nine minutes later when he kept out a brilliant effort from Trevor Clarke after he linked up with Burke.
The former won the game for Stephen Bradley’s side five minutes from time when he swept home a cracking right-footed finish from just inside the area as his side will now prepare for a trip to Slovenia to take on NK Celje on Thursday in the Europa League.
Waterford FC: Jones; Power, Horton, Radkowski, Leahy, Burke (Arubi 90); McDonald (Baggley 68), Glenfield, McMenamy (Parsons 68); Pattisson (Bellis 85), Amond.
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls; O’Sullivan (Clarke 63), Lopes, Cleary; Watts (Poom 71), O’Neill, Nugent (Farrugia 66), Kavanagh (Honohan 71), Burns; Byrne (Burke 66), Greene.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Monaghan).
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