Pico Lopes comes off the bench to head home vital winner for Shamrock Rovers
Waterford FC 1 Shamrock Rovers 2
Darragh Burns of Shamrock Rovers, 21, celebrates with team-mates, from left, Graham Burke, Aaron Greene, Conan Noonan and Sean Hoare after scoring their side's first goal
Roberto Lopes came off the bench to stretch the unbeaten run of champions Shamrock Rovers to five games as they inflicted back-to-back home defeats on Waterford in the Premier Division on Easter Monday.
Lopes, who replaced the injured Lee Grace in the first-half, headed home a 71st-minute winner after the Blues had levelled through Robbie McCourt following Darragh Burns’ opener ten minutes into the second-half, as Stephen Bradley’s side made it three wins on the trot.
A tentative opening 45 minutes was limited in terms of chances but the champions took the lead on 55 minutes when a long ball over the top from a Poom free-kick split the Waterford defence, and after Darragh Burns took the ball past Sargeant and slotted left-footed to an empty net.
But the home side were level on 64 minutes from a set-piece when substitute Maleace Asamoah was tripped on the edge of the penalty area, and Robbie McCourt beat Leon Pohls at his near post with a deflected left-footed free-kick that brought joyous scenes from the home faithful.
Rovers struck for the golden goal on 71 minutes when Conan Noonan ran down the left before putting in a pin-point cross that found the head of Roberto Lopes, who planted past Sam Sargeant from close-range.
Waterford FC: Sargeant, Power, Forde (Arubi 81), Horton, Radkowski, McCourt (McMenamy 90), McDonald (Macadam 62), McCormack, Parsons, Evans (Asamoah 62), Amond.
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls, Hoare, Grace (Lopes 31), Cleary, Burns, Noonan (Clarke 77), O’Neill, Towell (Nugent 62), Poom, Greene (Dillon 77), Burke (Honohan 77).
Referee: Rob Hennessy (Dublin).
Attendance: 3681
