Shelbourne 1 - 2 Dundalk

Two early headers from central defenders Andy Boyle and Brian Gartland ensured Dundalk remain in the title hunt following a well-earned victory over Shelbourne at Tolka Park on Friday night.

Shels could only manage the solitary goal and it meant that Dundalk were not made to rue a missed penalty early on from John Dillon.

Both sides were coming into this game in good form, Dundalk having vanquished Shamrock Rovers last week and Shels picking up a good point on the road to Bray Wanderers on Sunday.

Just like they did against Rovers, Dundalk started in sensational style and even quicker than last time as the game followed an eerily similar pattern to the one at Oriel Park against the Hoops. After 75 seconds, Dundalk hit the front as a Darren Meenan corner found Andy Boyle completely unmarked and his header hit the back of the net for his first goal in the white jersey.

With four minutes on the clock, the Lilywhites should have been further ahead when Stephen O’Donnell was fouled in the penalty area by Graham Gartland. However, the normally reliable dead ball expert Dillon stepped up and despite his spot kick having the necessary power, Lee Murphy dived to his right and got a strong hand on it to save.

The relief for the home support  was short-lived though as eight minutes later another Meenan delivery caused all sorts of problems. Again, the Reds failed to deal with it and this time it was Btian Gartland who rose and met the ball with a powerful header that left Murphy helpless, the defender scoring his second goal for the club since joining from Portadown last month.

The Lilywhites were in cruise control by this point and playing some of the fine football that has served them so well for much of the season with Kurtis Byrne showing excellent technique and awareness to clip the ball over the head of Derek Doyle and meet it with a volley on the way down but his effort ended up to the left of the post and wide.

Pat Hoban then had a tame effort on goal which the goalkeeper dealt with comfortably although he will not have been pleased at the amount of shots that were coming his way as his side struggled to find a foothold.

Stephen Hurley did finally test Peter Cherrie with a vicious strike from 35 yards after half an hour but the Scotsman dealt with it well as he did with a similar effort from Lee Murtagh just before the break.

Shels showcased more of a threat after the break but they still lacked the inventiveness that would find them a goal and indeed it was the Lilywhites who almost had a third when another Meenan corner found Hoban whose goalbound effort was blocked and from the resulting corner an unmarked Gartland header over the top.

Unsurprisingly after the breakneck pace at times of the opening half, the second did not have quite the same speed about it but half chances were still created and missed at either end.

With a little under 20 minutes remaining, Cherrie produced one of the saves of the season to deny a scorching Sean Brennan volley from the edge of the box but was left helpless when the corner that followed was not properly cleared and Gartland poked home after the ball found its way back into the box.

Dundalk though managed to see out the closing stages fairly comfortably bringing about a raucous roar from their massive travelling support when the final whistle was blown as they continue to dream of championship glory while Shelbourne will know that they still have a fight on their hands to remain in the top flight.

Shelbourne: Lee Murphy; Pat Flynn (Darren Tinnelly 83), Ian Ryan, Graham Gartland, Derek Doyle; Adam Hanlon, Glenn Cronin, Stephen Hurley (Brian Gannon 69), Sean Brennan; Lee Murtagh (Robert Cornwall 46), Dean Kelly.
Subs not used: Niall Burdon, Carl Walshe, Paul Andrews, Gareth O’Connor.

Booked: G Gartland (4), Flynn (25), Cornwall (82), Gannon (77).

Dundalk: Peter Cherrie; Mark Rossiter, Brian Gartland, Andy Boyle, Chris Shields; John Dillon (Jordan Keegan 71), Stephen O’Donnell, Richie Towell, Darren Meenan (Dane Massey 84); Kurtis Byrne (Francis McCaffrey 67), Pat Hoban.
Subs not used: Aaron Shanahan, John Sullivan, Vinny Faherty, Tiarnan Mulvenna.

Booked: Dillon (67).

Referee: Padraigh Sutton

Attendance: 1,504.

Extratime Man of the Match: Andy Boyle (Dundalk).