Scully goal puts Shelbourne back on top

A Pat Scully goal shortly before half-time was enough to earn Shelbourne a deserved victory at Dalymount Park last night and send his side back to the top of the National League Premier Division. More importantly, though, it ensured the Dublin club's place in European competition next season with the 10-point advantage Damien Richardson's team now enjoys over Shamrock Rovers enough to guarantee them a UEFA Cup spot.

The big centre half's strike had plenty of ramifications for other clubs too. St Patrick's Athletic, who take on Shamrock Rovers at Tolka Park tomorrow, now desperately need a victory while last night's defeat seriously dented Turlough O'Connor's hopes of retiring from league management with 19 consecutive years of top four finishes behind him.

Their outgoing manager's record aside, Bohemians would, no doubt, have liked nothing more than to take the three points themselves.

With European ambitions to sustain as well as an unbeaten run of five matches against the title contenders they had plenty to play for. Obviously not as much, however, as their neighbours.

The opening exchanges were decidedly scrappy, but it was the home side who had the better of it until Shelbourne began to settle into a pattern after a quarter of an hour or so.

Then, Dessie Baker's trickery down the right hand side started to emerge as the greatest difference between the two sides, the winger's first cross of note setting up Stephen Geoghegan for a close-range shot that Michael Dempsey did well to push wide, his second just eluding the league's top scorer as he arrived at speed beyond the far post.

When Geoghegan went close again after Peter Hanrahan had directed his attempted clearance of a Pat Fenlon free recklessly across the face of his own goal there seemed to be the first real hint of it being the sort of night for the 27-year-old that Ian Gilzean had endured a week ago in Inchicore.

When Geoghegan draws a blank, though, Shelbourne have an attractive enough Plan B in central defender Pat Scully and, sure enough, the visiting side's continuing pressure was rewarded six minutes before the break.

The breakthrough had looked likely when a cross from the left was fumbled by Dempsey but on that occasion Liam Kelly's shot was cleared off the line by Tommy Byrne. From the resulting corner, though, the home side's resistance finally caved in. The original cross into the box was not properly cleared and a neat ball back towards goal sent the big defender clean through on the goalkeeper who did very well to block Scully's first shot only to be left helpless by the follow-up.

The balance of the game immediately began to shift slightly, more so after the break when a note of caution began to creep into Shelbourne's game. Still, they enjoyed the better of the scoring chances, however, Fenlon going within a whisker of doubling the lead with his head early in the second period after Baker's centre had been flicked on by Geoghegan.

They started to feel the pressure more acutely, however, when David Fairclough arrived in place of Graham Lawlor and Hanrahan was packed off to the front. The switch heralded the home side's best spell of the game as Byrne, Derek McGrath and and Donal Broughan all attempted to pick out team-mates in a penalty area now routinely inhabited by every visiting player bar Kelly.

A year ago they still might have, not so much found a way through, as been shown one for Shelbourne have been known to grow absent minded as the title race tightened before. Not last night, they held their nerve well, remaining dangerous on the break but solid at the back over the closing minutes to retake the lead in the championship race just as it moves firmly into the home straight.

Bohemians: Dempsey; Broughan, Hanrahan, Mullen, Byrne; McGrath, Doolin, O'Connor, Mooney; Ryan, Lawlor. Subs: Fairclough for Lawlor (70 mins).

Shelbourne: Gough; Costello, Scully, McCarthy, Smith; Baker, Fenlon, Fitzgerald, Rutherford; Kelly, S Geoghegan.

Referee: J O'Neill (Waterford).