Heary: If we can get near the play-off places it will be a great season

Shelbourne manager Owen Heary focussed on the positives of a second league win from three since he took charge at Tolka Park less than a month ago following his side’s cagey 2-1 victory over Cabinteely on Saturday evening, adding that were he to steer the club toward a play-off position come the end of October that it would be viewed as an undeniably successful season for the Reds.

A first-half display saw his team go into the break 2-0 ahead despite a confident Cabinteely side unafraid to test Jack Brady in the Shels goal on various occasions.

However, it was his opposing number at the other end that was left red-faced after 15 minutes.

Shelbourne’s opening goal came thanks to a player clad in white and green, as defender Oscar Brennan’s back-pass was swung at and duly missed by goalkeeper Michael Kelly which saw the ball trickle beyond the goal-line just as the referee’s assistant flagged for the goal to be given despite heated disagreements from Cabinteely players.

Kelly appeared shaken throughout the remainder of the game on the back of the night’s opening goal, and he was picking the ball out from the back of his net for a second time as half-time approached.

Lorcan Shannon steadied himself long enough along the right wing despite his faltering balance to steer in an inviting cross which crashed off striker James English’s head and into the top corner of the goal.

Cabinteely took the game to their hosts in the second half and took full advantage of an overindulgent Shelbourne approach in the second period which could have seen the night’s points shared, as substitute Mark Slater’s goal after 69 minutes added to some late chances for Eddie Gormley’s side.

Speaking after the game, Shelbourne manager Owen Heary said he was happy with the game’s result but did not hold the same satisfaction with his side’s second half display.

“I’m happy with the result,” he said. “First half I thought we played well, second half didn’t go as planned but we ground out the result in the end.

“I don’t know about the first goal whether it was or it wasn’t but in the second half we stopped doing the basics we had been doing in the first and we let them creep back into the game. At 2-1 it got a little bit nervy but they held on so I was happy enough.

“We had already won at home (against Cobh Ramblers) when I took over, and we didn’t put a performance in last week so it was important that we got back to winning ways. We had a lot of games during the week so tiredness probably crept in at the end, but we are happy to get a home win.”

His side are now just eight points off the gilded promised land of a play-off position. Heary’s introduction at the end of June was welcomed given the manager’s legendary status at the club where he won five Premier Division titles and an FAI Cup between 1998 and 2006 and he admits that he longs for the club to be back where it belongs in the top tier of Irish football.

“I love the club – there’s no secret about that. Coming in and seeing old faces and that… but if I can get them near the promotion places it will be a great season. If not, then we have to build on for next season and get the players in that can do it.”

The past week marked a crucial period for the club in financial terms as they welcomed all of Falkirk, Swindon Town, Ipswich and Leeds United to Tolka Park which offered an influx of just under 4,000 spectators across four games.

“Look it’s great for the club,” Heary added. “I remember playing here when you were getting 5,000 and 6,000 people down for games so it’s great for the club to get the financial reward, but it is important that we bring players through from the underage setup as well because you can’t get the players on big money.

“We all know that we don’t have that sort of money to throw about. But at Bohs we didn’t have that money and we got players in and created a decent team so it’s important that we try that here now.

“It’s great because the players loved it,” the manager said on this past week’s friendlies.

“Then you see it here today and they are playing in front of a couple of hundred, so getting that little bit of buzz about for players is important and for the club financially it’s important to get a crowd in like that.

“Hopefully if we get to the Premier Division you can get that week-in week-out.”