Sporting Fingal 1 - 0 Shelbourne

• Gordon Hunt
• Fri, Apr 17 2009


Eamon Zayed’s fifth league goal of the season was enough to extend Sporting’s winning run to five and see off Shelbourne tonight at Morton Stadium. In a game of few chances, Zayed profited from the quick feet of Alan Kirby to send Sporting into second place in the League of Ireland First Division.

It was a quiet opening of few chances however Shelbourne should have scored long before they found themselves behind.

The Shels front three of Anto Flood, Peter Hynes and Paddy Madden put a lot of pressure on the Sporting backline throughout the opening half an hour and that pressure looked to have paid off in the eighteenth minute. Flood dispossessed Shaun Williams in the six yard box and coolly slotted the ball under Darren Quigley in the Fingal goal. However Flood’s celebrations were immediately halted after the referee, incredibly harshly, adjudged the striker to have fouled Williams in the process.

After a half hour, Kevin Doherty’s long ball released Peter Hynes on goal as he battled with Philip Byrne shoulder to shoulder for twenty yards. Hynes seemed to have won the clash but Byrne got a great last ditch block on Hynes’ attempted pass to the onrushing Paddy Madden.

But gradually Sporting began to create space for themselves. In Fingal’s first attack of note, Eamon Zayed opened the scoring with a simple thirty ninth minute tap in. Alan Kirby did all the damage with a tricky little run on the right hand side of Shels’ box, made room for a pass across goal and Zayed stood unmarked at the back post to tap in.

Fingal almost added a second within a minute through a break from Robert Bayly. Conan Byrne found Bayly who enjoyed a clear run at goal from the halfway line; however, after his first effort was excellently saved by Dean Delaney, his follow up header went marginally wide.

The second half started quietly, as Shels struggled to create anything against a Sporting side set up to punish any openings on the counter attack. The early chance created by the visitors was a Richie Baker effort from thirty yards that flew wide. It was a well worked move from Flood which created the opening however Baker’s effort was never a threat for Darren Quigley.

Sporting should have doubled their advantage when Robbie Doyle broke free on the sixty-six minute mark. Doyle ran from the half way line and his dangerous cross somehow found it’s way to Zayed at the back post. He rolled it back to the onrushing Alan Kirby however his goal bound effort was well saved.

Kevin Doherty headed a David Crawley free kick just wide with fifteen to go but in truth the home side were looking comfortable at this stage and, but for a couple of dangerous corner’s at the death, saw out the remainder of the game to leapfrog Shels into second place.

Extratime.ie man of the match: Conan Byrne

Sporting Fingal: Quigley, Gannon, Frost, Williams, Byrne, Maher, Byrne, Bayly, Zayed, Kirby (McFaul 90), Doyle (Gaynor 84) Subs not used: Paisley, McArdle, Hussey

Shelbourne: Delaney, Brennan, Crawley, Hedderman, Doherty, O’Brien, Doyle (Meenan 45), Madden, Hynes, Flood, Baker Subs not used: Quigley, McMillan, Murray, Whelan

Attendance : 1429