League Report: Shelbourne 2 - 0 Galway United

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Evan Caffrey was on the mark for Shels Credit: Peter Fitzpatrick (ETPhotos)

Two very contrasting styles of play were on display at the Richmond Road venue. Shelbourne employed a very possession-based, keep-it-on-the-deck approach, working the ball through the thirds—a style very pleasing to the eye, especially if you were a Reds fan.

In contrast, Galway United adopted a much more direct, get-it-forward-quickly approach. While this was somewhat effective in the second half, it yielded no dividends whatsoever during the first 45 minutes, which is when the home side scored the two goals that separated the teams.

The Reds started very brightly, and it was no surprise when they took an early lead in the 11th minute, albeit with the visitors contributing to their own misfortune in the concession of the goal.

A ball played down the Shelbourne left flank saw Rob Slevin and Jeannot Esua get their lines of communication mixed up, neither dealing with the threat, allowing John Martin to slip in and slide the ball past Brendan Clarke to make it 1-0.

Galway’s best chance of an equaliser fell to David Hurley in the 31st minute, but when faced with Conor Kearns in a one-on-one situation, he dragged the ball wide of the far post and the opportunity was missed.

They were to pay dearly for that missed chance as, five minutes later, they fell two goals behind when Evan Caffrey netted his second goal of the season.

Shels worked the ball up the field to Liam Burt, and his attempted cross was diverted away for a corner by a Galway defender.

When the resultant corner was taken, John Martin headed it back across the goal from the far post, and Caffrey showed great athleticism to hook the ball over Clarke.

John Caulfield reacted to the two-goal deficit at the half-time break by making a treble substitution, with Aodh Dervin, Maurice Nugent, and Francely Lomboto all entering the fray.

The substitutions had the desired effect, and United were much more threatening with Lomboto, in particular, offering great assistance to Stephen Walsh, who had ploughed a very lonely furrow upfront on his own in the first half.



They got a golden opportunity to claw one goal back when Nugent was taken down by Kearns in the box in the 75th minute, with referee Rob Hennessy immediately pointing to the penalty spot.

The confident Lomboto took the penalty kick, and while he struck it well towards the bottom left corner, Kearns did extremely well to get down smartly, gather the ball, and make the save.

The Tribesmen continued to surge forward in search of a goal, but there is no better side in the league at defending a lead than Shelbourne, and they held out with another clean sheet and all three points in the bag.

Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Patrick Barrett, Sean Gannon, Kameron Ledwidge, Tyreke Wilson; Liam Burt (Dean Williams 80), Evan Caffrey, Jonathan Lunney; William Jarvis (Shane Griffin 80), John Martin (Sean Boyd 70), Matthew Smith (John O'Sullivan 70).
Subs not used: Lorcan Healy, Lewis Temple, Jad Hakiki, Shane Farrell, Keith Ward.
Booked: Kameron Ledwidge (28), Liam Burt (44), John O'Sullivan (90), Sean Gannon (93)

Galway United: Brendan Clarke; Killian Brouder, Jeannot Esua, Al Amin Kazeem (Francely Lomboto 65), Robert Slevin (Patrick Hickey 46); Garry Buckley, David Hurley (Aodh Dervin 46), Edward McCarthy (Maurice Nugent 46), Conor McCormack (Conor O'Keeffe 65), Karl O’Sullivan; Stephen Walsh.
Subs not used: Kieran McDonagh, Colm Horgan, Kyle Fitzgerald.
Booked: Conor McCormack (48), Al Amin Kazeem (52), Aodh Dervin (88), Aodh Dervin (89).
Sent off: Aodh Dervin (89).

Referee: Rob Hennessy
Attendance: 3,643
extratime.com Player of the Match: Evan Caffrey ( Shelbourne)

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