The League of Ireland season is approaching its climax and there's a possibility this year could see one of the most dramatic finishes in the league's history. Friday night's clash between Derry City and Shamrock Rovers has already created a number of talking points with one crucial incident in the final minute grabbing headlines.
Shamrock Rovers were heading into the game off the back of two convincing wins against Sligo Rovers and Galway. Stephen Bradley's side were gaining momentum as they made the trip up to the Brandywell to face second-placed Derry City in what seemed like a make-or-break match for the reigning champions.
Having dominated the majority of the cagey affair throughout, Rovers took the lead through Dylan Watts in the 26th minute and that's all that was separating the two teams approaching the final minutes of play when Patrick McEleney went down inside the box and referee Damien McGraith awarded a penalty to the home side.
Substitute Pat Hoban stepped up to fire past Léon Pöhls and claim a crucial point for his side in their title bid and seemingly putting an end to Rovers hopes of retaining the league for the 5th season in a row.
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Conan Byrne Fuming With McEleney Following Penalty Incident
But it was the manner in which the penalty was awarded that angered supporters. Contact seemed minimal on McEleney on review of the incident. RTÉ pundit Conan Byrne had the luxury of viewing the replay but he was far from impressed with the 31 year-old's antics.
Speaking on RTÉ's coverage of the match, Byrne didn't hold back when reviewing the decision following the Derry midfielders actions:
We'll all be talking about referee Damien McGraith, but I'm going to focus on Patrick McEleney, It's an absolute disgrace for a player of his calibre to go down like that in the box to gain an advantage for his team, it's absolutely disgraceful
My blood is boiling here, as a former player, as a competitor, as a sportsperson to see someone go down in the box like that, it's just not on
Derry City 1-1 Shamrock Rovers
"It's an absolute disgrace" - Conan Byrne was scathing of Patrick McEleney after the Derry man won a very soft penalty
📱 #LOI reports: https://t.co/wsKSdFw5Xc pic.twitter.com/S0VDdOml94— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 20, 2024
Derry manager Ruaidhrí Higgins felt the penalty decisions evened themselves out over the course of the 90 minutes as his side secured a big point late on:
I hope they (The pundits) mentioned the stonewall penalty that was turned down before. I hope they made as much comments about that. But you don't normally fins that when Dublin clubs are involved
Whether it was a penalty or it wasn't, he's given it. There should have been one before that.
Shelbourne have led the way for the majority of the season and Damien Duff's side are currently three points ahead of Derry City and seven ahead of reigning champions Shamrock Rovers with six matches left to play.
The Reds however are seemingly feeling the pressure with only one league win in six which will no doubt concern Duff with Derry rapidly closing in.
It's all set up for a very interesting final few weeks of the season.
