Poom rescues point for Rovers to keep gap to Derry at six points
LATE EQUALISER: Markus Poom gives Derry City a share of the spoils with his injury time equaliser.
A year on from Derry’s statement win at Tallaght came a similar sequence of events but a different outcome.
The only consolation for the Candystripes heading back north last night from conceding a stoppage-time equaliser was the preservation of their six-point buffer from Rovers.
On a stodgy and soggy surface, this wasn’t the prettiest of meetings between the country’s top two but in this early-season posturing a point apiece will be accepted by each.
A couple of defensive changes, removing Pat Hoban and Michael Duffy, spoke of Derry’s desire to dig in but they failed in the basics by giving Markus Poom a free header to equalise.
Derry’s supremacy in the table over the Hoops was, in part, due to last Friday’s fixture against Drogheda United – one of their bogey teams – falling victim to the Dublin snow and there were doubts that the Tallaght surface would survive the deluge that engulfed the capital from lunchtime onwards.
Referee Damien McGraith left his final inspection until an hour before kick-off but if the pitch known as the best in the country succumbed to the rain it would’ve made a mockery of the summer season which Ireland prides itself on as an outlier.
A heavy surface wasn’t the only reason Ruaidhrí Higgins used the depth of his squad, for the exertions of facing both the FAI Cup winners and league champions 72 hours apart was a factor.
He originally intended on making two changes for the trip to Tallaght but a third was enforced after the team sheet was submitted. Rovers know all about the set-piece sorcery of Will Patching but had to withdraw, enabling Jordan McEneff to accompany Adam O’Reilly in midfield.
His contribution on the night will be recalled as an inauspicious one, for he ceded possession in a dangerous area that led to the Rovers breakthrough.
Injury too prevented McEneff, formerly of Arsenal, facing his ex-Tottenham Hotspur brother Aaron as he sat among a galaxy of absentees and how they missed his and Jack Byrne’s creativity.
Granted, soaking underfoot conditions conspired against a free-flowing contest and so it did against the turnout. From a record crowd on the opening night against Dundalk, the expanded 10,000-capacity was less than half full. At least the live television cameras were pointed towards the congested main stand.
One foray by Gary O’Neill in the eight minute that caused a splash demonstrated what players were coping with but there were no such problems for his elder Rovers strike partnership two minutes later.
An exchange of passes between Rory Gaffney and Aaron Greene on the right exposed a gap for the latter to power into but O’Reilly scampered across to clear the danger.
The other thirty-something, Greene, did manage to bear down on goal after 13 minutes, latching onto O’Neill’s long pass, but dragged his shot wide of the far post by a whisker.
Graham Burke also let Derry off the hook when failing to get purchase on a cross from Darragh Burns but the visitors also came alive in the final third.
Midway through the half, Cameron McJannet didn’t connect properly from six yards with Ben Doherty’s cross from his corner that rebounded back into his path before Michael Duffy fired tamely at Leon Pohls.
Perhaps the venom was distilled from that effort due to a shove by Burns when he’d lost Duffy ghosting in behind but the referee didn’t agree with the protests.
Eventually, the nippy winger did display the full extent of his shooting prowess, only for Josh Honohan to stretch across to block.
It was evenly contested but the absence of goals was corrected after the break.
Duffy again went close by scooping over the crossbar with Pohls lost before Honohan saw his close-range header blocked in a congested box.
Poom’s header was well gathered by Brian Maher but the provider, Burns, did the business himself moments later on the hour.
His run in behind was ideal for Burke’s slide-rule pass to take out Doherty and the MK Dons loanee tucked the ball beneath Maher.
That ignited the contest, with Duffy’s deflected effort crashing off the crossbar before an innocuous looking challenge by Dylan Watts sent Pat Hoban tumbling.
It was enough to prompt the whistle and Hoban drilled the spot-kick into the bottom left corner to register his third goal for his new club.
As he did on Friday, Danny Mullen made an impact off the bench by putting Derry in front, bundling the ball over the line from Paul McMullan’s corner but there would be a final twist.
Aided by the return of Pico Lopes off the bench, the late Rovers pressure paid off when Poom popped up at the back post to nod home another incisive cross by his fellow wing-back Burns.
L Pohls; D Cleary, J Honohan, L Grace; D Burns, D Watts, G O’Neill, M Poom; G Burke (R Lopes 88), R Gaffney; A Greene (J Kenny 64).
B Maher; S McEleney, M Connolly, C McJannet; R Boyce (D Kelly 65), A O’Reilly, J McEneff (P Mullen 78), B Doherty; P McMullan, M Duffy (S Todd 78); P Hoban (C Coll 89).
Damien McGraith (Mayo).
: 4883.
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