SHAMROCK ROVERS put on a five-star show to remind the chasing pack that their title resolve should not be questioned.
A week ago, the Hoops lost away to their arch rivals Bohemians and handed Derry City and Dundalk a sliver of hope.
But with games in hand on both rivals, it will take more than one bad day at the office to derail this team from their three-in-a-row mission.
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Thursday’s well-deserved European draw with Djurgardens was evidence enough that Rovers had put their Dalymount display behind them.
But Stephen Bradley’s team were determined to send another reminder with Harps the unlucky ones on the receiving end.
Neil Farrugia bagged a brace - his first goals in two years - while Andy Lyons, Rory Gaffney and Jack Byrne also weighed in as Rovers moved four clear with a game in hand.
It was also just the tonic ahead of Thursday’s group stage clash away to Belgian giants Gent, with Byrne’s return to form after injury a timely one.
Along with his tap-in goal, the Ireland international played a leading role in both of Farrugia’s strikes and clinched the man-of-the-match honours.
But the outcome was never in doubt - and Rovers made sure of it.
Showing four changes from the side that drew with Djurgardens, they pulverised Harps in a first-half show of strength that left Ollie Horgan in a spin.
The floodgates opened early and Farrugia opened his account for the season, a day shy of two years since his last goal for the club.
Lyons’ initial shot in the box was parried by goalkeeper James McKeown and fullback Gary Boylan should have cleared the danger at the far post.
But he was too slow reacting to the save, unlike Farrugia who robbed the ball off him and slammed home from close range.
And the winger - playing here on the right - almost snatched a second soon after only for ex-Hoops Ethan Boyle to block his shot at close range.
Farrugia wouldn’t have to wait too long for further reward.
In the meantime, his team-mates kept piling on the pressure and Lyons was like a Swiss Army knife, unfolding a leg to clip a Byrne corner into McKeown’s arms.
And Harps were then crying foul with the officials when Rovers were awarded a soft penalty 10 minutes before the break when Aaron Greene and Ryan Rainey clashed.
Harps boss Horgan lost the plot - and continued to remonstrate with fourth official Ben Connolly long after Gaffney had coolly dispatched the spotkick.
And that was the game. Harps had shown flashes of their ability up to that point, but that incident just zapped their spirit and they folded.
Rovers, of course, needed no second invitation to stick the knife in again….and again….and again.
Harps might have had a sliver of hope to cling to had they gone in 2-0 down at the break, but they shipped two more in the final four minutes of the half.
First, Lyons burst the net with a sweet first-time finish after Gaffney squared a Farrugia pass to him for his ninth of the season in all competitions.
And a minute before the break, Farrguia doubled his own haul with a cool and calm finish from Byrne’s neat assist.
Harps may have been down and out but their start to the second-half was impressive and they could have halved the deficit within 15 minutes
Half-time substitute Jaimie Siaj pulled one back with a thunderbolt strike from distance and the Jordan international then smashed the crossbar minutes later.
But it was false hope as Rovers were still in the mood to make the Ballybofey men pay a heavy price for their capital visit.
On 62 minutes, McKeown did all the hard work when denying Aidomo Emakhu with a point blank save only to see Byrne pouncing on the free ball to tap home.
Byrne hasn’t had a great deal to smile about in recent months as he was dogged with injuries since late May.
But stepping up his return week by week, he is slowly feeling his way back in the mix and deserved a goal after an impressive all-round display.
Finn Harps have a knack of putting it up to Rovers in Ballybofey, but not here in Dublin as it was 2008 when they last beat the Hoops in the capital.
And they have never won here in Tallaght Stadium - a statistic that wasn’t going to change on this occasion after being blown out of the water so early and so often.
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