Shelbourne 4 - 2 Bohemians

• Niall Farrell
• Mon, Apr 25 2011




Shelbourne recovered from an early David Lodola goal to defeat north Dublin rivals Bohemians 4-2 and progress to the quarter finals of the EA Sports Cup. A Barry Clancy brace and goals from Stephen Paisley and Philly Hughes cancelled out the Bohs goals from David Lodola and Robert Bayly.

Lodola gave Bohs a somewhat fortuitous opener after just a minute of play after Robert Bayly's shot took a big deflection off the Bohs number 10, bobbled past Paul Skinner and over the goal line. But Shels, defeated 2-0 in their last competitive match against Bohs, went on the search for an equaliser almost immediately.

Stephen Paisley levelled the match for Shels after 14 minutes, heading the ball in at the far post from a Conan Byrne corner. Shels dominated possession for the rest of the half, with Ray Scully shooting just over the Bohs crossbar from 25 yards out on 20 minutes. Two minutes later Chris O'Connor just about denied Stephen Paisley his second goal- tipping the defender's header just over the crossbar after Conan Byrne again whipped the ball in.

Bohs made few chances in the remainder of the second half, with Karl Bermingham and Conan Byrne both having chances for the home side. Shels made good on their dominance in the possession stakes seconds before half time, again from a corner. This time it was Philip Hughes who headed the ball powerfully past Chris O'Connor after another Conan Byrne delivery.

The Gypsies didn't offer much going forward, even though they looked a bit more energetic in the early stages second half. Some tidy Shels play in midfield, coupled with resolute defending from Stephen Paisley in particular meant that the visitors never really had the ball for long. The Reds doubled their lead on the hour mark, with Conan Byrne again the creator. Byrne picked out Philly Hughes with a free-kick, who was able to knock the ball on for Barry Clancy to knock in at the far post.

That goal was just what Bohs needed to wake themselves up, with Robert Bayly putting them back within a goal of the Reds after 66 minutes. Bayly capitalised on Sean Byrne's failure to clear the ball- robbing the Shels defender of the ball before tapping it in from close range. Bohs then at last enjoyed a bit more of the ball, but were guilty of over-passing the ball at times when they could have made a chance.

On 76 minutes, Conan Byrne could have restored the two-goal cushion for Shels- with Bohs 'keeper Chris O'Connor pushing his shot over the bar from point blank range after Chris Mulhall made the chance with a darting run. Bohemians made some threatening moves on the Shels defence in the final fifteen minutes, but never really looked like scoring.

Shelbourne made sure of the win with five minutes remaining, with Barry Clancy scoring his second goal of the evening. Chris Mulhall won the ball in midfield and terrorised the Bohs full-back with a series of step overs before deftly crossing the ball to Clancy. The former Monaghan full back-cum-winger, unmarked, hammered the ball low past O'Connor in the Bohs goal. The Reds comfortably saw out the final five minutes to seal their progression to the quarter finals.

Shelbourne: Paul Skinner; Gareth Matthews, Sean Byrne, Andy Boyle, Stephen Paisley; John Sullivan (David McGill '78), Ray Scully, Conan Byrne, Barry Clancy; Philip Hughes (Chris Mulhall '67), Karl Bermingham.
Subs not used: Dean Delany, Colm James, Kevin Dawson, Brendan McGill, David Cassidy.

Bookings: J Sullivan (72).

Bohemians: Chris O'Connor; Ger O'Brien, Liam Burns, Kevin Feely, Roberto Lopes (Danny Joyce 71), Keith Buckley, Lee Dixon (Stephen Traynor 64), Robert Bayly, Gary Burke, Christopher Forrester; David Lodola.
Subs Not Used: Craig Sexton, Ryan McEvoy, Killian Brennan, Anto Flood.

Referee: Neil Doyle.
Attendance: 964
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Conan Byrne (Shelbourne).