Shelbourne 2
St Patrick’s Athletic 3
THRILLING AND BRILLIANT and utterly, utterly compelling.
More of this in the title run-in, please.
What looked like being a completely dominant St Patrick’s Athletic win, with goals from Joe Redmond and Brandon Kavanagh giving them a 2-0 lead heading towards the 75th minute, eventually turned into a thrilling and explosive 3-2 victory.
All the better that the TV cameras were here to capture it all.
Shelbourne rallied as any side looking to be champions should, especially in front of their own fans. Rayhaan Tulloch and Mattie Smith rifled in two top-corner stunners in a four-minute spell in the final quarter that looked to tilt this enthralling contest in their favour.
But St Pat’s grabbed back the initiative, and all three points, when substitute Al-Amin Kazeem struck a rebound winner two minutes from the end.
There was still time for Smith to be shown a red card after grabbing Aaron Bolger in the face off the ball.
Shels lost their heads when John Martin’s reckless late tackle also came dangerously close to another sending off. What they must do now is not lose sight of the fact the destiny of the title is still in their hands.
Just.
No matter what happened here they were still going to remain top of the Premier Division.
But the nature of this emotional rollercoaster, a night that toyed with logic and defied expectations, might take some getting over.
Damien Duff’s side are four points clear of Derry City and go to Tallaght Stadium on Sunday just five ahead of Shamrock Rovers.
This was a fifth win in succession for St Pat’s and Stephen Kenny made sure his players celebrated the milestone with their travelling supporters as Tolka Park began to empty.
They are only seven back and have the kind of momentum that would make them more serious title contenders were there not just four games remaining.
But who knows? Especially after an encounter like this, one that gets a grip of you and makes you wonder if you will ever understand the madness of it all.
Football, bleedin’ deadly; this was a Dublin derby after all so only right to put a Dublin slant on Alex Ferguson’s famous phrase.
Sometimes the game takes your breath away and this was one of those nights. And that’s without mentioning Aidan Keena’s strike from inside his own half that came back off the crossbar.
Redmond’s goal separated the sides at the break but it felt like more than that. The delightful Kavanagh typified the renewed spirit, floating curiously in an advanced midfield role while also delivering that set piece from the right for Pat’s to take a 22nd-minute lead. The delivery was sharp and Redmond’s connection slight, but that is all that was needed to find the far right corner.
There was a purpose to most of what St Pat’s did whereas Shels seemed more hesitant, especially as the half wore on.
As the minutes ticked by and wrong decisions were made in the final third, the sense of angst deepened.
Tulloch started promisingly down the left, the winger one of five changes Duff made from Friday’s stalemate with Sligo Rovers, and had faded as Shels began to labour – although his sensational strike on 76 minutes was a reminder of his threat.
It could have been much different had a 13th-minute Paddy Barrett header at the back post found its way in instead of going over the bar.
They worked a number of good positions both before and after Pat’s made the breakthrough but there was a hesitancy to what they did.
O’Brien was another with fresh legs and after good movement down the left, he headed into the box. He shot instead of trying to pick out Liam Burt then teed up Harry Wood with the rebound but put too much on the pass.
There were groans from the home fans when Burt and O’Brien did well to create an opening on the edge of the box for Wood, only for the Englishman to try another pass wide for Tulloch instead of having a go himself.
And the last action of the half summed up the frustration when O’Brien had a clear sight of Joseph Anang between the posts from 18 yards but opted to try and give Wood another go only for the danger to be snuffed out.
Duff changed things 10 minutes into the second half, bringing on Sean Boyd for O’Brien and replacing Burt with Ali Coote.
But their struggles remained and Pat’s punished them.
It started with Anang passing to Redmond from a goal kick. A simple pass to Jamie Lennon, who ran off the shoulder in midfield, allowed the away side get down the right wing in an instant. Barrett’s scuffed clearance fell kindly for Zach Elbouzedi who edged back into the box and fired the ball across the six-yard box for Kavanagh to tap home.
The outcome looked secure until Tulloch sparked Shels into life, a neat exchange on the left allowing him to find the space for a brilliant strike into the far corner.
Four minutes after that, with the clock on 80, substitute Smith was further out on the other side when he drifted in on his left and curled his strike into the opposite side.
Tolka erupted and the drama was only bubbling.
Melia and Kazeem were introduced by Kenny but it was the latter who proved the matchwinner, although it was the teenager’s shot off the post that the full-back then pounced on to scramble home.
The fact he was that high in support of the attack gave an indication of what this Pat’s team are all about. Their positivity paid off and Shels were the ones to suffer.
Shelbourne: Kearns, Gannon, Barrett, Griffin (Wilson 41), Ledwidge; Wood (Smith 68), Coyle (captain), Caffrey (Martin 68), Tulloch; Burt (Coote 55); O’Brien (Boyd 55).
St Patrick’s Athletic: Anang; Sjoberg; Redmond (captain), Grivosti, Breslin; Elbouzedi, Forrester, Lennon, Kavanagh (Kazeem 87), Mulraney (Melia 79); Keena (Leavy 79)
Referee: Damien MacGraith
