Shelbourne bounce back to silence critics and Rovers

All too often in a campaign they have led uninterrupted since late November Shelbourne have been moving steadily towards the title without really convincing anybody that they would be worthy champions.

Against a Shamrock Rovers side who had looked capable in recent weeks of opening up the championship race as it moved into the third and final round of fixtures Dermot Keely's side did much to silence their critics.

While the visitors contributed to another open and entertaining contest it was Shelbourne who looked better equipped to dominate the game, and to turn that dominance into victory.

The goals, their problem all season, came thanks to Richie Baker and Paul Doolin and then, late on, Dessie Baker, but the win . . . well the credit for that was spread far more broadly through the team.

Clearly evident from early on was the work ethic which some in the Shelbourne camp had talked of before the game. At the back the work never stopped to close down the open spaces, up front Stephen Geoghegan and the Baker simply kept manufacturing them.

All three of the home side's most attacking players were, in fact, outstanding and the younger of the Baker brothers made his mark on the game as early as the 14th minutes when his pace was enough to get him on to Pat Fenlon's lobbed ball towards the area, his poise sufficient to allow him hold off two defenders and finish from some 12 yards.

By then the hosts might already have been a couple up for while the game kicked off with a flurry of end to end action it was around Tony O'Dowd's goal that by far the better of the chances were carved out.

In all of the better early build ups the same three Shelbourne men were involved and it was to be much later in the half before anybody else could muscle in on the act although when James Keddy finally did five minutes before the break his poorly misdirected attempt to head into an open goal probably left him wishing he hadn't bothered.

Early in the second period, with Shelbourne again overrunning their opponents in midfield where none of the visitors seemed capable of asserting themselves, a mistake by Gino Brazil close to half-way sparked a sweeping Shelbourne move that was ended by Doolin sidefooting home from a couple of yards.

In the circumstances Richardson had to do something to alter the balance of things and he tried by throwing on Shane Robinson for the generally anonymous Billy Woods and allowing Brian Byrne to relocate to his more natural left side.

The improvement was noticeable, more so after Tony Cousins arrived but as the minutes slid past and the shots, Robinson's and Cousins's being the best of them, saved well by Steve Williams, an air of increasing desperation crept into the Rovers approach.

As Tony O'Dowd lined up a kick-out five minutes from time they had six men in attacking positions, an admirable show of commitment to salvaging something but one that always left them open to the sucker punch.

Sure enough it arrived. Brazil again the culprit, his pass intercepted by Tony McCarthy who sent Dessie Baker scurrying clear towards goal. On the edge of the box the striker turned inside and appeared to be holding the ball up for the chasing Geoghegan but instead he let fly with a curling shot that caught O'Dowd off his line. It was a fitting end to a fine display, one which puts them five points clear until tonight at least.

For Rovers, after all the talk of the steady improvement over the course of the season to date, it was a timely reminder that there remains some ground to be covered yet.

Shelbourne: Williams; Heary, Scully, McCarthy, D Geoghegan; R Baker, Doolin, Fenlon, Keddy; D Baker, S Geoghegan. Subs: Hutchison (17 mins), Campbell for Doolin (65 mins).

Shamrock Rovers: O'Dowd; Brazil, Purdy, Palmer, Dunne; Byrne, Kenny, Colwell, Woods; Francis, Lawlor. Subs: Robinson for Colwell (52 mins), Britton and Cousins for Woods and Francis (75 mins).

Referee: J Feighery (Dublin).