League Report: Shelbourne 0 - 1 St. Patrick's Athletic

A second-half header from Sam Curtis was enough for St. Patrick’s Athletic to seal a 1-0 win against Shelbourne at Tolka Park on Friday night. This marks three wins from four games for interim boss Jon Daly.

Damien Duff kept faith with the side that started in Sligo last Saturday night, which earned an impressive 3-0 win in the Showgrounds. 'Super' Jack Moylan, as named by the stadium announcer before the match, grabbed the headlines after scoring a hat trick.

On the other hand, the Saints, still without captain Joe Redmond due to a long-term injury, made three changes after the 3-2 defeat away to Shamrock Rovers last time out. Carl Axel Sjoberg, Jake Mulraney, and Ben McCormack came into the side.

McCormack was rewarded by interim boss Jon Daly after scoring coming off the bench Monday night.

As you would expect from a Dublin Derby, the game started frantically. Chris Forrester almost opened the scoring within one minute after hitting a half volley from outside the area, which just went wide.

Both teams had some half chances in the opening exchanges. Jamie Lennon tried his luck from distance, but his shot went wide of the target.

Shelbourne had successive free kicks in a matter of minutes. Tyreke Wilson’s effort was easily gathered by Dean Lyness, while Caffrey’s effort minutes later went harmlessly wide.

Shels grew stronger as the half went on, with the animated Damien Duff vocally encouraging his side on the Tolka Park sideline. The home side began to dominate possession as Pats dropped off.

The lively pair of Jack Moylan and Matty Smith were linking up well, causing problems on the right side of the Athletic defense.

The best chance of the first half fell to Evan Caffrey. After Pats failed to clear their lines, Smith picked up the ball centrally, driving at the heart of the visitors' back four.

He picked out Caffrey to his right, who instead of taking the shot on first time, cut in, which allowed the recovering defender a chance to stop the attack. Lunney moments later had an effort from the edge of the penalty box, but he dragged his shot wide.

The visitors struggled in the first half to get a real foothold in the game. The best opportunity for Pats in the first half came when Mulraney hit a quick free kick to McCormack, whose strike from outside the box hit the top of Conor Kearns' post.

The second half began scrappily, with a lengthy stoppage after Moylan was bloodied after a clash with the Athletic centre back Tom Grivosti.

The first real chance of the second half fell to Pats. A mix up in the Shels defense after a long ball saw Forrester capitalise, who cut in and forced Kearns into a save. The rebound fell to Adam Murphy, but his follow-up took a deflection wide.

From the resulting corner, it was the visitors who would strike first in the Derby. Mulraney’s delivery found the head of Sam Curtis, who headed the ball into the net, much to the delight of the travelling Pats fans in the Ballybough End. 1-0 to the Saints.

St. Patrick’s started to assert themselves on the game, knocking the ball around with renewed confidence. Eoin Doyle thought he was going to make it two when it looked like it opened for the shot, but a Shels defender managed to get a block on the effort.

Duff made changes, hoping to provide a spark for his side to get back in the game with Jad Hakiki and Brian McManus being introduced from the bench.

In the final 15 minutes, the home side applied pressure, looking for the elusive equaliser. A long throw into the box resulted in claims from the home side when Shane Farrell went down, but it was dismissed by the officials.

Moments later, Shels won a free kick on the edge of the area. Farrell’s cross was cleared but the ball fell to McManus, who cut onto his left but unfortunately for the Tolka faithful, he couldn't find the target.

Shelbourne kept pushing for an equaliser and it seemed for a moment that Moylan was going to find the breakthrough as he raced clear. However, Anto Breslin made a brilliant recovery tackle to quell the attack.

Moylan again was influential, creating another chance for the home side when his perfect cross found the head of substitute Kyle Robinson, but his header went past Dean Lyness’ post.

The Athletic looked dangerous on the break and should have killed the game with substitute Conor Carty and captain Chris Forrester having fantastic chances to make it two, but both failed to convert.

Shelbourne worked hard in the seven minutes of additional time but were unable to find a goal, and St. Pats secured the win in Tolka Park.

This makes it three wins from four games now for interim manager Jon Daly, who is making a stronger case for taking the reins on a permanent basis.

Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Luke Byrne (Kyle Robinson 83), Shane Griffin, John Ross Wilson; Evan Caffrey (Jad Hakiki 57), Mark Coyle (Brian McManus 65), Shane Farrell, JJ Lunney, Jack Moylan, Tyreke Wilson (Kameron Ledwidge 83); Matty Smith.
Subs not used: Scott Van der Sluis, Andrew Quinn, Lewis Temple, David Toure, Gbemi Arubi. 
Booked: Jad Hakiki (68), John Ross Wilson (73), Matty Smith (90). 
Sent off: None. 

St. Patrick's Athletic: Dean Lyness; Anto Breslin, Sam Curtis, Tom Grivosti, Carl Axel Sjoberg (Jay McGrath 78); Chris Forrester, Jamie Lennon, Adam Murphy (Mark Doyle 69); Eoin Doyle (Conor Carty 83), Ben McCormack (Thijs Timmermans 69), Jake Mulraney (Jason McClelland 83).
Subs not used: David Odumosu, Thomas Lonergan, Vladislav Kreida, Serge Atakayi. 
Booked: Jamie Lennon (71), Thijs Timmermans (90). 
Sent off: None. 

Referee: Paul McLaughlin
Attendance: N/A
extratime.com Player of the Match: Sam Curtis