- Dave Donnelly
- Fri, May 08 2015
A dominant performance brought Shelbourne's inglorious five-game losing streak to a close as they overcame Cabinteely 1-0 at Tolka Park.
A mixture of committed Cabo defending and poor Shels finishing kept the final scoreline flattering to the away side, but it was a game over which Shelbourne had long assumed control when Adam O'Connor's speculative strike bounced into the net.
The Dublin clubs surprisingly went into the game with identical records from the first nine games, with predicted strugglers punching somewhat above their weight and Shelbourne having only managed two wins all season.
Shelbourne coach Kevin Doherty made two changes in an effort to arrest his team's slide down the table, experienced striker Philly Gorman and defender Ryan Robinson replaced Paul Andrews and Colm Crowe.
Cabo coach Eddie Gormley made just one change from the side that stunned Finn Harps with a last-minute equaliser last week, frontman Bobby Mazono dropping to the bench behind Stephen Hanley.
Both teams lined up in orthodox 4-4-2 format – a rarity even at this level – though it quickly became apparent that all the attacking intent lay with the home side.
Gormley's team – dwarfed by the comparative giants in front of them – struggled to compete physically, though maintaining an admirable persistence to play the ball through midfield instead of playing the long ball.
Nevertheless, it was Cabo who forged the first realistic chance as John McKeown found himself in space on the penalty spot with the Shels defence flat-footed, but he slipped on the rain-sodden surface and couldn't get his shot away.
Mark Sandford should have made it 1-0 moments later but, after doing wonderfully well to turn inside Jamie McGlynn, he kicked the ground when any sort of decent purchase would have beaten Evan Whelan in the Cabinteely goal.
Sandford was then unlucky to see his shot cannon back off the post from Gareth Coughlan's pull-back, and the pair swapped rolls later in the half as Coughlan's beautiful curling shot beat Whelan from 20 yards but, unluckily, just missed the inside of the Cabo post.
Shels continued to create the better openings, with Hughes and captain Daire Doyle wasting decent opportunities, but they got the luck their play deserved when O'Connor stepped inside from the right-hand side and toe-poked a shot from 25 yards that appeared to take a deflection that took it beyond the excellent Whelan's dive.
The second half took on a similar pattern to the first, with the home side dominating the play, albeit with fewer chances created, and Cabinteely looked increasingly unlikely to force their way back into the game, although replacement striker Mazono did force a good save from a rare Cabo corner.
Shelbourne substitute Alan O'Sullivan – on in place of Sandford – really should have settled Doherty's nerves when Dylan McGlade flashed a wonderful cross into his path, but with an empty net to shoot at he managed to miss the ball completely.
Hughes squandered another chance as he found himself free on the penalty spot but took too long to set himself, while substitute Conor Earley – who was the subject of a bizarre poem in the matchday programme – put his free-kick inches over the bar.
Cabo had one chance to steal a draw late on as Evan Finnegan pulled his shot wide when he really should have at least tested Greg Murray in the Shels goal.
Shelbourne midfielder Craig Walsh was livid to be booked in injury after taking a dive under Robert Maloney's fair challenge, but it mattered not as Shelbourne closed out in style for a morale-boosting three points.
Shelbourne: Greg Murray, Evan Osam, Adam O'Connor, Ryan Robinson, Sean Heaney; Craig Walsh, Daire Doyle, Gareth Coughlan (Conor Earley 68), Dylan McGlade; Philip Hughes, Mark Sandford (Alan O'Sullivan 63).
Subs not used: Jack Brady, Jake Donnelly, Colm Crowe, Alan Kehoe, Conor Earley, Darragh Gannon.
Booked: Doyle (13), Coughlan (43), Robinson (59), Walsh (87).
Cabinteely: Evan Whelan, Jamie McGlynn, Victor Ekanem, Robert Maloney, Daniel Campbell (Lloyd Cairns 77); Evan Finnegan, John McKeown (Bobby Mazono 44), Stephen Hanley, Conor Foley (Gavin Fahy 67), Aaron Brilly; Ger Pender.
Subs not used: Jamie Broderick, Ross Broderick, Shane O'Neil, Sean Hyland.
Booked: None.
Referee: David Keeler.
Official attendance: 391.
