Shelbourne 2-1 U.C.D. (4-6-13)

By Aidan Geraghty @AidanGeraghty5 

Shelbourne came out victorious in Tuesday night’s Leinster Senior Cup Quarter Final against fellow strugglers U.C.D. to make it two wins on the trot for just the second time this season. While the league table is yet to change, both cup ties over the long-weekend have shown that the Reds have gained confidence since the departure of unpopular manager Alan Mathews and are excited about the rest of the season under Johnny McDonnell.

The game started off rather quietly, both sides showed they would attempt to pass the ball but neither one could take a foothold. The only real chance in the first 20 minutes came when Dinny Corcoran beat Ger Hanley in the Shels goal with a placed effort but the covering Adam O’Connor escorted it past the post. Shels took the lead just before the half hour mark when Mark Leech directed a Dean Kelly header from a corner towards the visitors’ net. However, they didn’t keep the lead long as the Students equalised three minutes later; Ola Adayemo’s shot was deflected off O’Connor and Colm Crowe only had to pass it home. Mark Leech came close again twice before the interval but he couldn’t take advantage of either, and that was how it stayed at half time. 1-1.

The Reds had the advantage in the opening stages of the second half but they couldn’t do anything with their superior retention of the football. U.C.D. had their best chance to take the lead when James Kavanagh made Ger Hanley work from a corner. The match lacked any activity of note until the 80^th minute when Dean Kelly put the 19-time champions back in front. Robert Bayly took U.C.D. by surprise on the counter-attack and Dean Kelly, who scored twice against Bandon on Friday night, took an optimistic shot which curled into Mark McGinley’s top left-hand corner. At this stage, Shels were always going to hold on and they now progress to the semi-finals.

Shelbourne: Ger Hanley; Rob Cornwall (Sheerin), Adam O’Connor, Ian Ryan, Jack Memery; Seán Brennan (Hughes), Pat Flynn, Robert Bayly, Adam Hanlon (Prizeman); Dean Kelly, Mark Leech.

U.C.D: McGinley; O’Halloran, Boyle (Matthews), Kavanagh, Traynor; Adayemo (Coyne), Walsh, Crowe, Belhout; Whelan (Burke), Corcoran.

Attendance: 140.

OnTheSidelines’ Man of the Match: Pat Flynn. He started in centre-midfield and moved to right-full when young Cornwall got injured. He had a very solid game in both positions and coped with the pace of Belhout very well.