Christmas spirit of sharing prevails

After dividing the points, you might have been forgiven for expecting the holiday spirit to extend into the post-match interviews at Richmond Park yesterday. As it turned out, though, after an entertaining and typically passionate Dublin derby, both Damien Richardson nor Pat Dolan insisted that they should have been on the winning side.

Richardson was particularly ebullient afterwards, remarking that "once in a while you get a gut feeling that a team you play with or manage is on the verge of great things and I have that gut feeling about this Rovers side now.

"I think," he added, "that we're getting back to what Rovers is all about, good players in a good team and the feeling in the dressing room now is very, very positive about what we can achieve now with this group of players".

Dolan's claims, by contrast, were modest enough with the "visiting" side's boss celebrating the work-rate of his team and insisting, when it was put to him that they had nevertheless been second best, that "I thought we did well and had the best chance of the game".

That chance, which fell to Michael Holt courtesy of Robbie McGuinness just two minutes after the break might well have provided the goal required to separate the two sides all right, but Tony O'Dowd did well to stand his ground on one of the few occasions that he was really tested.

SΘamas Kelly, on the other hand, was much more regularly involved in the proceedings, while those immediately in front of him occasionally had to engage in some fairly desperate measures to protect their goalkeeper.

Shane Robinson's drive against the left post 11 minutes from time aside, Rovers produced surprisingly few chances of real note given the amount of possession they enjoyed around their opponents' penalty area.

There were a couple of penalty claims but the strongest reaction from the crowd was to a Willie Burke challenge on Robinson in which even the Rovers manager readily conceded that the defender had taken the ball while neither of Colm Foley's most prominent attempts to impersonate wrapping paper while in the vicinity of a threatening striker prompted what would pass for a serious claim by the players involved.

In fact, Rovers players have managed just one goal from their last four games and Stephen Grant's inclusion yesterday for his slightly injured namesake Tony hardly helped their efforts to end the rather barren spell.

The upbeat nature of Richardson's remarks was nevertheless easy enough to understand given the superiority of his side in midfield, as well as a defence where Terry Palmer once again benefited from not having to carry the sort of weight so regularly placed on his shoulders last season.

Not only did the former UCD centre back look solid alongside Pat Scully, but he also came close a couple of times to heading his side in front when he ventured forward for set pieces.

Given the quality of some of the Rovers passing at times, a headed goal from a corner would almost have seemed disappointing but, by the end, Richardson and the supporters clearly would have grabbed it with both hands.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: O'Dowd; Costello, Scully, Palmer, Byrne; Robinson, Colwell, Tracey, Woods; Francis (T Grant, 75 mins), S Grant.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Kelly; Croly, Foley, Maguire, Burke; McGuinness, Osam, Griffin, Russell; Mbabazi (McCarthy, 82 mins), Holt.

Referee: H Byrne (Dublin).