Shamrock Rovers enjoyed a comfortable 4-1 win over Linfield in Tallaght last night, but the margin would not have been so great had Linfield’s Ryan Henderson not been guilty of this miss.
Last night’s clash between Shamrock Rovers v Linfield will unfortunately be remembered for events off the pitch as there were clashes between Linfield supporters and Gardai after the visiting fans raised their club flag and the Union Jack on flag poles outside the ground (More on that here).
On the pitch, it was a fairly routine victory for the Hoops thanks to goals from Ronan Finn, Stephen Rice and a brace from Ciaran Kilduff, but their task in the away leg could have been a little trickier had Brian McCaul converted a late penalty or had Ryan Henderson tucked away the rebound with a far easier chance.
Having saved McCaul’s original effort, Rovers ‘keeper Barry Murphy must have been sure that Henderson would have put away the rebound but instead he fired wide from four yards, much to the inevitable joy of the home support.
Given the cushion that Rovers will take into the return leg it is doubtful that Henderson’s miss will have a huge bearing on the tie overall, but whatever happens, hopefully the second encounter will pass off without the type of incidents that marred the meeting between the sides last night.
Video via YouTube/whitewell reds
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