League Report: Shelbourne 1 - 1 Cabinteely

Shelbourne and Cabinteely played out a tense one all draw at Tolka Park on Friday night. A wonder free-kick by Michael Brown had given Eddie Gormley’s side the lead heading into the break only for a late Sadiq Oguntola goal to earn The Reds their first point of the season.

Shelbourne pushed Cabinteely from the start with Jamie Doyle forcing a number of early corners on the left wing.  Doyle then created the opening chance for The Reds when he whipped a ball into James English but his first-time effort was well-blocked by Edward McDonagh.

With fifteen minutes on the clock, Shelbourne suffered a blow as Aidan Collins was forced off the field after landing awkwardly on his shoulder. The experienced centre-half was in evident agony as he left the pitch to a chorus of applause.

Twenty-four minutes in Shelbourne should have opened the scoring. Doyle showed fantastic feet to beat Karl Byrne before sprinting towards the Cabinteely backline where he hit a low-centre which was inches from meeting English’s outstretched boot. 

Cabinteely began to grow in the game as the half progressed with Aaron Brilly and Shane Boyle beginning to combine well with front man Ben Hanrahan. Cabo right-back Byrne then found himself in unusual territory as a ball dropped to his feet just outside the Shelbourne box, however his effort flew over the target.

The game then burst into life five minutes before the break. English caught Andrew Wall in possession just inside the Cabinteely half. He then played Lorcan Shannon clean through in on the right side but his effort was deflected onto the post by an excellent reaction save by Michael Kelly.

In the aftermath Cabo broke up the other end and Cian Kavanagh gave away a free-kick just outside of the box. Brown stepped up and curled a wonderful strike beyond Greg Murray and into the top-right corner.

Kevin Doherty’s side reacted well to going behind with Collins’ replacement Robert O’Reilly narrowly missing the target with a bullet header from a Kavanagh corner.

English then sent a lovely ball into the feet of Kavanagh who laid it off to namesake Dylan Kavanagh but he drilled it high and wide of the target.

Almost immediately after the restart Shelbourne came agonisingly close to pulling level. An over-the-top ball found English but Kelly sprawled his body well to block the shot from 6 yards out.

Half-time substitute Oguntola imposed himself well on the game from his introduction with the former Cabinteely man’s opening touches putting Adam O’Connor through on the right wing but his low drive found the side-netting.

Cian Kavanagh then floated a ball towards the back stick which was knocked in front of Doyle but his header was cleared off the line by Wall.

Oguntola then came close shortly after the hour mark when he turned his man before bending an effort towards goal however, it dipped just over the bar.

Minutes later Brown came close to doubling his tally with another excellent free-kick. His effort almost crept in at the near-post but Murray was quick to get low and push it to safety.

As the minutes progressed The Reds continued their hunt for an equalizer. Cian Kavanagh slipped a ball into the path of English who passed it wide to O’Connor, however his menacing cross was eventually cleared to safety following a moment of hesitation from the Cabinteely backline.

With less than ten minutes remaining, Shelbourne grabbed their equalizer. English was fouled on the right-wing which Cian Kavanagh swung deep into the danger zone. Oguntola rose magnificently to meet it, powering his header into the back of the net.

Despite continued Shelbourne pressure late into the game, Eddie Gormley’s side held out to come away with a point. 

Shelbourne: Greg Murray, Adam O’Connor, Aidan Collins(Robert O’Reilly 17), Ryan Robinson, Daire Doyle, Lorcan Shannon(Gareth Coughlan 65), Cian Kavanagh, Gavin Boyne(Sadiq Oguntola 46), Dylan Kavanagh, Jamie Doyle, James English

Subs not used: Carl Walshe, Darragh Gannon, Robert Duggan, Jack Brady.

Yellow Cards: Kavanagh (40).

Cabinteely: Michael Kelly, Karl Byrne (Sean Burke 85), Andrew Wall, Edward McDonagh, Kevin Knight, Joseph Doyle, Shane Boyle, Aaron Brilly, Michael Brown (Mark Slater 67), Stephen Hanley(Oliver Hamzat 89), Ben Hanrahan

Subs not used: Cathal Gillen, Shane Heffernan, Lee Mitchell, Troy Owens, Mark Slater.

Yellow Cards: None.

Referee: John McLoughlin

Attendance: 568

Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Sadiq Oguntola 

You can view a selection of images from the game as taken by Eoin Smith by clicking here.