Jessie Stapleton salvages Shelbourne draw in Shamrock Rovers battle

Jessie Stapleton scored the Shelbourne equaliser as the reigning champions earned a 1-1 draw against Shamrock Rovers in the SSE Airtricity League Women's Premier Division.

Although still in the very early stages of the season, this clash had the feel of being a significant encounter in the context of the title race.

Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers served up an entertaining contest and one which proved to be enthralling from the very outset.

From the very start this game was gripping, with end to end action throughout.

Noel King’s Shels side had a great chance in the fith minute, when Keeva Keenan blazed over the crossbar from a few yards out inside the penalty area.

Jamie Thompson showed the attacking spark she can provide on 10 minutes, when cutting in from the left before seeing her effort flash just wide of the target. While shortly beforehand Jessica Hennessy threatened with a headed effort from a Thompson corner kick.

In what was developing into a keenly contested duel, Shelbourne went close to scoring on 21 minutes, when Megan Smyth-Lynch fired a shot which clipped the post from a tight angle.

With this top of the table clash on a knife edge, Rovers almost struck on 38 minutes through another attempt from Thompson which forced a fine save out of Shels goalkeeper Courtney Maguire.

Early in the second half, a dangerous looking free kick from Alex Kavanagh went just wide, with Shels shooting just over with another chance shortly after.

However, it was Rovers that took the lead in the 58th minute. Áine O’Gorman clinically dispatched her shot to the back of the net, following a good driving run and pass from Jamie Thompson to set her up.

During this period of the contest Rovers were in the ascendancy. O’Gorman nearly got a second