Burke bags brace as Shamrock Rovers continue recovery beating UCD

Shamrock Rovers glided past UCD to secure their third consecutive victory, during a routine night at Tallaght Stadium.

An early brace from Graham Burke ensured that any pressure was quickly relieved, before Jack Byrne wrapped up the night mid-way through the second half.

It took the Hoops seven attempts to record their first win this year, but Stephen Bradley will be hoping that order has now been restored after his men built on the momentum of Friday's victory in Dalymount Park.

Despite the scoreline, the Hoops looked sluggish early on.

A series of misplaced passes gave UCD early possession, however, the Students couldn’t maintain possession long enough to find 17-year-old Jake Doyle, who was leading the line during his first start at this level.

The Hoops soon cleaned up their play, with Byrne central to all three goals on the night.

Fifteen minutes in, the 26-year-old slid a perfect ball through to unleash Trevor Clarke in the box, but the wing-back could only find the Students’ side netting.

Rovers hit the opener on the 20th minute mark.

Again, it was Byrne’s pass that split the defence, allowing Rory Gaffney to charge into the box and spring the ball to Burke to convert.

And their lead was doubled four minutes later courtesy of a Byrne corner.

Roberto Lopes competed for the ball in the box, but it found its way to the feet of Burke, who fired his fifth goal of the season into the roof of the net.

UCD never looked like recovering, but defended bravely to prevent the night from becoming a rout.

Burke had chances for a hat-trick, but it was Byrne who finally secured all three-points when his 25-yard strike found its way past Kian Moore in the UCD goal.

There was still a half-hour to play, but the Hoops looked content to sit on