Shelbourne 0
St Patrick’s Athletic 1
SHELBOURNE’S UNBEATEN RUN has stopped at eight games, St Pat’s teenager Sam Curtis providing the full stop.
Curtis’ header from Jake Mulraney’s corner 10 minutes after half-time settled a hectic derby in which Shelbourne had the possession to feel they deserved a point without creating the chances to earn it.
Chris Forrester almost lit the game alight after only 30 seconds, when he smashed a first-time volley from the right channel narrowly over the crossbar. It was otherwise a hectic whirl of a Dublin derby, Shelbourne – led by Mark Coyle – the more aggressive, snapping into challenges.
Some of their attacking play was slick but lacked a final act of conviction. Matty Smith jinked his way into the box but was crowded out by the Pat’s defence.
The movement and interplay of Shels’ front three was excellent at times, with Jack Moylan often pulling left to leave space for Smith to break through the middle. One such move led Smith to push the ball right to Evan Caffrey, who took a touch too many instead of shooting. Worse was the fact he miscontrolled the ball, and was thus easily dealt with. Another fluent move among the front three later ended with Moylan jutting in and seeing his shot blocked.
Neither side worried a goalkeeper in the first half but Pat’s did test the woodwork when Ben McCormack fizzed a long-range effort off the top of the bar. Pat’s interim boss Jon Daly adjusted at the break and briefly swapped to a back three to match Shels, taking 10 minutes to then separating themselves on the scoreboard. The move’s genesis was Luke Byrne’s misjudging of a long ball, onto which Forrester pounced and cut in-field, seeing his shot parried by Conor Kearns. The ball broke to Eoin Doyle, whose instinctive follow-up was deflected over the crossbar. It was from the corner that Pat’s found their goal, as Mulraney’s set piece was deftly glanced in at the far post by Sam Curtis.
It wouldn’t be accurate to say Shels almost hit back immediately – there was a lengthy delay to the restart as Pat’s fans chucked flares onto the pitch – but once proceedings did get back underway, Moylan planted a header just wide from a set-piece.
Shels huffed and puffed without working Dean Lyness, with substitute Brian McManus horribly skewing a shot from the edge of the box when Pat’s half-cleared a free-kick. Moylan got another tantalising glimpse of goal when he was set clear by a neat Shane Farrell pass, but he was snuffed out by the twin recoveries of Curtis and Lennon.
Damien Duff swapped a defender for striker Kyle Robinson in the closing minutes to chase a goal and he came closest to scoring, peeling off to the back post to meet Moylan’s delightful cross, only to nod the ball into the side-netting.
Moments later Shels tried the same trick: another Moylan ball to the back post, but this time it was met by a Pat’s head. The ball bounced out to Shane Farrell, who angled a sweet volley just over the crossbar.
Shels continued to toil across seven minutes of added time, with Shane Griffin’s tame header at Lyness from another set piece the closest they came to their equaliser.
Pat’s should have instead used the added time to make the game more comfortable: first Conor Carty flashed high and wide when one-on-one, while Chris Forrester then took the ball around the goalkeeper but was denied by a despairing JJ Lunney dive.
Pat’s, however, dealt with Shels’ final aerial bombardment, and 1-0 was enough for a Shels side brimming with energy and ideas without commensurate attacking quality.
Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Shane Farrell; JR Wilson, Shane Griffin, Luke Byrne (Kyle Robinson, 83′); Tyreke Wilson (Kameron Ledwidge 83′); Evan Caffrey (Jad Hakiki, 57′), Mark Coyle (Brian McManus, 65′), JJ Lunney, Matty Smith; Jack Moylan
St Patrick’s Athletic: Dean Lyness; Carl Axel Sjoberg (Jay McGrath 78′), Sam Curtis, Tom Grivosti, Anto Breslin; Jake Mulraney (Jason McClelland 83′), Ben McCormack (Thijs Thimmeran, 70′), Jamie Lennon, Adam Murphy (Mark Doyle, 70′); Chris Forrester (captain), Eoin Doyle (Conor Carty, 83′)
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
