Shelbourne 1 - 2 Limerick

• Niall Farrell
• Fri, Sep 16 2011


The ghost of the 2008 season showed that it still lingers around Tolka Park, with two late Limerick goals giving them the win over Shels tonight. The Blues denied Shels promotion three years ago thanks to a goal in the dying seconds and boosted their own hopes of promotion this season with a dramatic late win.

Paudie Quinn levelled the scores after 90 minutes with Denis Behan winning the match three minutes into stoppage time. Phillip Hughes had opened the scoring on 36 minutes for Shels.

Colm James tested Barry Ryan early on- forcing the Limerick 'keeper to stretch in order to get a hand to the ball. Philip Hughes played James in close to goal and the midfielder shot low at the bottom left corner only to see it tipped wide. Directly afterward, Stephen Paisley rose well to head a David Cassidy corner just wide of the Limerick goal.

An unmarked James had another golden opportunity to score after 14 minutes, nudging a good Conan Byrne cross into the arms of Barry Ryan. Philip Hughes missed another great chance just before the half hour mark, failing to get on the end of a near-perfect deep Brendan McGill cross.

Shels always looked the more likely side to score in the first half and did just that on 36 minutes. Conan Byrne did all the hard work after David Cassidy fed him the ball, skimming past Pat Purcell before crossing for Phillip Hughes. Hughes, right in front of goal, made no mistake in nodding the ball in from close range.

Limerick barely had a chance in the first half, but began the second with a real flourish. Denis Behan laid the ball off in the Shels box for Shane Tracy to shoot powerfully wide on the half volley. The Blues probed into the Shels area on numerous occasions but largely looked poor in attack.

That was a sign of things to come, with most of the chances and possession in the second half going Limerick's way. The outstretched hand of Dean Delany was all that stopped Paudie Quinn from levelling scores on 75 minutes- the Shels 'keeper palming a strong half-volley away for Gareth Matthews to clear.

Quinn went close again minutes later with a header, but again Delany was on top form to tip the ball over. Quinn would prove to be Shels' nemesis on the night- popping up to equalise on 90 minutes. With seven minutes left Phillip Hughes could have doubled Shels' lead, shooting wide after being put through on goal by Brendan McGill.

Rory Gaffney looked dangerous all night and had a hand in both Limerick's goals. His in-swinging corner was headed past Dean Delany on 90 minutes by none other than Paudie Quinn. The draw looked improbable for a lot of the match, with Shels likely to be very disappointed with their second half performance.

Three minutes into added time, Denis Behan scored his sixth goal in seven games and his second winner in stoppage time in succession. Dean Delany fumbled a shot from Limerick substitute Sean Brosnan and the ball spilled for Behan to tap in and secure a famous late win for the Blues.

Shelbourne:Dean Delany; Gareth Matthews [Sean Byrne '78], Lorcan Fitzgerald, Andy Boyle, Stephen Paisley [Kevin Dawson HT] ; Ian Ryan, Colm James, David Cassidy, Conan Byrne, Brendan McGill; Philip Hughes.
Subs Not Used: Paul Skinner, Barry Clancy, Chris Mulhall, David Da Silva, Karl Bermingham.

Limerick:Barry Ryan; Pat Purcell, Peter White, Andrew Bhandarkar [Peter Hynes '81], Dave O'Leary [Jeffrey Judge '73]; Joe Gamble, Paudie Quinn, Sean Kelly, Shane Tracy [Sean Brosnan '67]; Denis Behan, Rory Gaffney.
Subs Not Used:Brian McCarthy, Shane Cusack, Corey Treacy, Garbhan Coughlan.
Yellow Cards:Dave O'Leary, Joe Gamble, Sean Kelly, Peter White, Pat Purcell, Paudie Quinn, Andrew Bhandarkar.

Referee:Conor Fitzgerald
Attendance: 808 (official)
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Rory Gaffney