Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Josh Honohan scores the winner.Dan Clohessy/INPHO Josh Honohan shows character and class to give Shamrock Rovers edge over Shelbourne Defender returned from Republic of Ireland duty only to score own goal before delivering late blow to Damien Duff’s side. 9.50pm, 13 Jun 2025 Share options David Sneyd reports from Tolka Park Shelbourne 1 Shamrock Rovers 2 JUST AS THIS game was about to kick off, and after Damien Duff made sure to shake hands with Stephen Bradley and his Shamrock Rovers staff, one Shelbourne official scurried up the steps to inform a colleague that 10 German tourists had turned up hoping to get tickets. This Dublin derby sold out earlier in the week – people were gasping for a game after the mid-season break – and the two officials seemed unsure what to do. After a few seconds debating the issue one of the men ran back down the steps. With the game then in motion the man arrived back and ever so subtly slipped a wad of €20 and €50 notes under a folder. The Germans must have made it in. For Josh Honohan, the feeling of seeing his 83rd-minute shot arrow into the roof of the net would have felt priceless. Especially as the Rovers defender’s first-half own goal brought Shels back into the game. He must have felt the world was against him after returning from his first taste of international duty but not earning a cap in either of the Republic of Ireland’s June friendlies. But this felt like the really serious stuff as the Premier Division returned, and victory for the Hoops means they maintain a six-point lead at the top of the table. For the defending champions, however, there was no revival during eight minutes of added time and they drop to sixth, 12 adrift of the leaders. Their European campaign looks to now hold even greater importance this season. Advertisement Duff sprung a bit of a surprise on the resumption of the campaign with Tyreke Wilson deployed in midfield to man-mark Jack Byrne, while also having the licence to pick up different positions across the centre to try and give Shels more control in possession. For 10 minutes or so it seemed to work as the champions looked the more purposeful and Rovers were forced into an early change when Lee Grace replaced Adam Matthews in defence. Just as Rovers were figuring things out they hit the front. Byrne stood over the free kick on the right, and as he began that trademark stuttered run up Cleary was already on his way to meet it with a glancing header that went unchallenged and ended in the left corner. Shels had nine men in the box but Cleary still had a completely free diagonal run before ending the travelling fans wild behind that goal. It wasn’t that Tolka was stunned, rather a sense of déjà vu leaving everyone subdued as it was exactly these kind of defensive errors that Duff stated cost his side points during the first half of the season. Their equaliser on 32 minutes seemed to come during a lull, and perhaps complacency had crept into Rovers’ approach as it was a goal that could so easily have been avoided. Firstly, Danny Grant failed to stop the cross of Kameron Ledwidge on the left and as the ball sailed harmlessly across to the far side Honohan headed into his own net after getting his feet mixed up and stumbling off balance. Evan Caffrey was approaching behind but wasn’t putting anywhere near enough pressure on to force such a mistake. It was a brutal moment for Honohan but one he would later ensure was not the major talking point. There was an edge for the remainder of the half and Duff received a yellow card for his protests after a handball decision didn’t go his way, while Mark Coyle and John Martin were also cautioned. Grant could have made amends for not stopping that earlier cross with the last action of the first half but his low shot 12 yards out was excellently saved by Conor Kearns. Byrne was then shown a yellow for taking down Kerr McInroy in the D of the Rovers box four minutes into the second half. The Scot took the resulting free himself but fired across his body just wide. Five minutes later Aaron McEneff glided into the box to meet Grant’s cross and rose gracefully into the air only to arrow his header straight into the arms of Kearns. It was a golden opportunity in a game that was for the taking, and on 57 minutes Duff sent on strikers Sean Boyd and Mipo Odubeko to try and be the ones to grab the initiative. Bradley responded not long after with a triple threat change that saw Graham Burke, Dylan Watts and Aaron Greene introduced. Not to be outdone Duff then replaced Wilson (who aplty followed Byrne off the pitch) and Coyle with Harry Wood and JJ Lunney. Both sides showed their hand for the last 20 minutes and Rovers thought they regained the lead when Cleary stooped to arrow a fine header into the bottom corner from Watts’ cross only for a foul to be given by referee Rob Harvey. Shels showed their threat too when Grace had to block Wood’s goal-bound shot but just when it looked like the home side had the momentum Rovers struck. They worked the ball down the left, Greene drilled a low cross, Sean Gannon had two attempts at a clearance but it eventually fell to Honohan near the penalty spot and he finished with the kind of class that says a lot after a difficult start. Duff and Bradley shook hands when it was all done but only Rovers – and the Germans – went home happy. Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Sean Gannon, Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge, Tyreke Wilson (JJ Lunney 69); Evan Caffrey, Mark Coyle (captain) (Harry Wood 69), Kerr McInroy (Ali Coote 81), Ellis Chapman (Mipo Odubeko 57), James Norris; John Martin (Sean Boyd 57). Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty; Adam Matthews (Lee Grace 6), Roberto Lopes (captain), Dan Cleary; Danny Grant, Aaron McEneff, Matt Healy, Jack Byrne (Graham Burke 69), Danny Mandroiu (Dylan Watts 69), Josh Honohan (Trevor Clarke 85); Rory Gaffney (Aaron Greene 69). Referee: Robert Harvey. David Sneyd Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Josh Honohan shows character and class to give Shamrock Rovers edge over Shelbourne”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Josh Honohan shows character and class to give Shamrock Rovers edge over Shelbourne”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. 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