Fenlon scrambles a precious point

Shelbourne will hardly be satisfied by the manner in which they extended their unbeaten league run to 15 games at Tolka Park last night as a battling Finn Harps forced them to come from behind for a share of the points and miss the opportunity to take sole possession of the Premier Division top spot.

Harps were returning to the site of their FAI Cup defeat for the first time since last May, but under the new inspiration of player-manager Gavin Dykes, it didn't take long to put those memories behind them as Johnny Kenny had them one goal up inside the first half hour.

In truth, the Shelbourne defence looked a little shaky from the start, and when Declan Boyle played a long ball into Kenny's path down the right, he didn't hesitate. From the corner of the box he found the perfect angle with his right boot and put Harps a goal up right on the quarter-hour mark.

Kenny had another chance to chip Steve Williams shortly afterwards but sent this ball too high.

The remainder of half was largely uneventful as Harps defended their advantage without much difficulty. Shelbourne pushed forward only occasionally, and most dangerously when Tony McCarthy just failed to connect with Pat Scully's run into the Harps box. Dessie Baker was also played into the area four minutes before the break but Brian McKenna made sure he reached the ball first.

It's been a while since Shelbourne went into the interval a goal down, and manager Dermot Keely made some immediate changes at that point by replacing Williams with Danny O'Leary in goal and adding Carel Van der Velden to their attack.

Harps, if anything, stayed on top of the game with the more impressive range of passing while Shelbourne's chances continued to come in fragmented bursts. James Keddy created one of the most threatening moments with his cross on 52 minutes and Stephen Geoghegan was unfortunate to see his header hit the post.

But Harps were making it happen at the other end in equal measure. Fergal Harkin slipped a ball through to Jonathan Speak on 13 minutes and O'Leary did exceedingly well to make sure the area was covered. Soon after, Patrick McGrenaghan was fed an excellent ball from Kenny and he could have done a lot better than send it wide.

Gary Haylock's introduction marked the next step in Shelbourne's increasingly desperate search for a response. And when it finally did come 15 minutes from time, it was far from pretty.

Stephen Geoghegan started the move from the left side of the box, and it passed through Keddy, the blocked shot of Van der Velden, and Geoghegan again before Pat Fenlon somehow found the space to drill the ball into the net from about 10 yards.

Shelbourne will travel to Cork City next weekend for the game that should finally shake things up at the top of the table.

Shelbourne: Williams; Heary, D Geoghegan, McCarthy, Scully; Doolin, Fenlon, Keddy, R Baker; D Baker, S Geoghegan. Subs: O'Leary for Williams, Van der Velden for Doolin (both half-time), Haylock for D Baker (59 mins).

Finn Harps: McKenna; Vaudequin, Minnock, Boyle, Dykes; Hutchison, Kenny, Tierney, Speak; McGrenaghan, Harkin. Subs: Sheridan for Kenny (75 mins).

Referee: A O'Regan (Cork).