'I'm loving it' - Yoyo Mahdy opens up on Shels move as the Reds go joint-top

New Shelbourne recruit Yoyo Mahdy explained that he is relishing his early days at the club – as the Reds moved joint-top on Friday evening.

The former UCD forward played a key role as Shels saw off then table toppers Athlone at Tolka Park – although he could not get his name on the scoresheet.

He did however see his header crash off the bar – and also forced a smart save from Michael Schlingermann early in the first-half.

“We came into the game and knew that a win would leapfrog them and that’s what we got,” he told extratime.com.

“We’re happy with our performance despite it being a one-nil win, I thought we could have had four or five if we got a bit luckier around the box but three points is three points.

“We’ve been disappointed with some of our performances recently. We just needed to get the ball down and start playing – which we did.

“I don’t think Athlone were able to handle it and we were happy with how we did.”

So far, Mahdy has made four league starts in the Shelbourne red – and has played in each of their opening seven league games, with three appearances from the bench.

While he only has two goals to his name so far – the 23-year-old has asserted himself as a key man in Ian Morris’ side.

“I’m loving it,” he added on his move to Shelbourne. “I’m loving Tolka – it’s a great pitch, a great stadium and the lads are excellent. The management have been second to none.”

The UCD Commerce student joined the Reds from UCD in January – with his studies due to complete at the end of this academic year – but he left the Students with plenty of good memories.

“I can’t say a bad thing about my time at UCD,” he said. “They’re doing really well this season.

“I have a lot of good memories at UCD but I’m a Shels player now and happy to be where I am.”

Next up for Shels is a visit to St Colman’s Park to take on Cobh Ramblers as the Reds remain unbeaten so far this season.

“If you told us that we’d be in the position we are in after seven games with two to play before the end of the first round of fixtures you’d take it all day.

“It’s a different challenge next week – everyone knows what Cobh are about, but we’ll be going into the week looking to get another three points on the board.

“I’ve had a good bit of joy down there as well so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s one of those games that you have to deal with and recently I’ve enjoyed it down there.”