Blip for Shelbourne encourages others

On another day Shelbourne would probably have won the match fairly easily but Sunday's defeat by a Bray Wanderers side much the same as the one relegated two seasons ago is still a hopeful sign that this year's league race might just remain interesting beyond the first month or two of the new year.

Dermot Keely's side created more chances than the visitors at Tolka Park and should have scored a couple of goals, but Wanderers showed what a little resilience can achieve and in the process suggested that, even with a considerably stronger squad to choose from this season, the Shelbourne coach will have his work cut out over the coming campaign.

While the goal they conceded wasn't quite as comical as the one given away so early on in the home game with Rosenborg there was still a humorous side to it. And the poor quality of the finishing around the Bray area must have left quite a few of those in the stands with the distinct impression that there will be more frustrating afternoons to come.

Keely, as ever, refused to be rattled by the performance afterwards and readily conceded that there had been plenty like it during the title-winning run, the only difference being that the lack of goals conceded meant that there was always at least one point to tuck away.

In fact the number of games drawn - 12 - was ridiculously high. Throw in the seven won 1-0 and the further five also won by only a single goal and the 11-point gap at the top of the table last season starts to look a little less formidable.

Shelbourne made a good deal of their luck last season but then they got a few nice breaks along the way too. So, on the face of it, it should be within the scope of one or two of the chasers to run them closer this time around.

The demise of their unbeaten home run in the league - before Sunday their previous defeat at Tolka Park in the league had been on the final day of the 1998-'99 season - will certainly give some hope to those visiting Tolka, particularly over the coming weeks. So too will the sight of an angry Pat Fenlon cursing his manager on the way to the dugout after he was replaced after just over an hour in by Jim Crawford.

Having finished last season with the best team in the top flight, Shelbourne have since added enough quality to claim to have the best squad. But that means that there will be a good deal more juggling to be done this season which could, in turn, mean a somewhat less happy ship. After Sunday, several championship regulars could find themselves rested, although Stephen Geoghegan's place will come under the most immediate pressure.

For all of that, however, even if the worst case scenario does come to pass, with a couple of players leaving and not quite so many of the close calls going their way, it's still hard to see who is going to overhaul Shelbourne.

If Cork City do manage to sign Padraig Moran, for whom they have now bid at least three times, then they will be much better positioned to challenge but, notwithstanding their fine result in Aberdeen, it would be fairly remarkable if Bohemians can hit the ground running again with such a radically-altered squad.

As for the others, well there's bound to be at least one surprise at either end of the table and in the meantime a few more upsets should make the whole thing more interesting.

It could also make the players concerned a good deal more prosperous - if the beaming members of the Bray squad (7 to 1 to win on Sunday) are anything to go by.