Shelbourne keep it tight, cut it fine

THEY'RE cutting it fine, but having toiled for an hour, Shelbourne cranked up a gear and finally wore down Felix Healy's remoulded and spritely young Derry side at Tolka Park last night. Once again Shelbourne rode their luck to record a fourth successive 1-0 win.

That they did so was as much a triumph of tactics as anything else. Shelbourne applied their 4-5-1 formation with such rigidity that at times they resembled 11 chess pieces, but with little interchanging or fluidity. Tony Sheridan roved to a limited extent, but otherwise the midfielders held their ground.

Time after time long balls sought out the heavily out numbered Stephen Geoghegan up front, but even if he managed to get to the ball first there was a 30 yard gap before any sighting of support arriving.

Meanwhile, Derry manager Felix Healy unveiled his latest youngster, the teenager Tommy McCallion, also in a 4-5-1 system. At the start McCallion was given more of a roving commission `in the hole' between the midfielders and Gary Beckett, who worked tirelessly and held the ball up adroitly. With young Tom Mohan also coming into himself, Healy is putting together a very promising side.

McCallion, formerly with Healy at Coleraine, looked a natural. He was perpetual motion, effortlessly bringing the ball under control and playing without inhibition.

It was unfortunate that he missed a pre interval sitter upon which the game turned, but one sublime piece of control with the outside of his boot later on was made for the TV cameras present.

With the willing Beckett suffering for lack of support, Healy ended the initial stalemate by pushing Harry McCourt up front and switching McCallion to the right midway through the half.

Moments before Sheridan had struck the upright with a snap volley from the edge of the area. Subsequently he tested Tony O'Dowd with a shot on the run before a brilliant first time cross on the run by Pascal Vaudequin saw McCourt's excellent volley touched on to the bar by Alan Gough.

With Healy's tactical switch tilting the scales Derry's way at this stage, Mohan tested O'Dowd with a low drive before, on halftime, Declan Geoghegan played four Derry men in as Beckett worked a one two with Paul Doolin and rounded Gough. He left the ball for young McCallion, who had too much time as he steered the ball wide of a gaping net from a reasonable angle.

You sensed then that it was to be Derry's night. The feeling intensified when Shelbourne manager Damien Richardosn brought on John O'Rourke and reshuffled his forces, the substitute making the sorely needed runs from midfield while Greg Costello reverted to a more effective overlapping full back. Suddenly there was movement and fluidity.

Peter Hutton just did enough to force Stephen Geoghegan into shooting wide after Geoghegan had been put through by the increasingly influential Gary Howlett after 62 minutes.

But six minutes later Shelbourne struck. Howlett released Costello delightfully, and his first time cross from the byline, the kind defenders hate, was converted at the near post by Stephen Geoghegan - his 13th of the campaign.

Shelbourne retreated riskily, and Derry made them work to the end. But their defence is made of stern stuff these days and they held on without undue bother, almost making the extra space tell on the break.