Shelbourne 1 St Patrick’s Athletic 2
St Patrick’s Athletic exacted a revenge of sorts against Dublin rivals Shelbourne this evening, beating the title holders in their own backyard.
Shelbourne clinched last year’s eircom League title only after St Pat’s had been docked 15 points for the improper registration of striker Mbabzi Livingstone.
And although both managers and sets of player insist there is no axe to grind between the clubs, tonight’s result will have been especially welcome in the away dressing room.
Martin Russell opened the scoring for the visitors, cooling tucking away a penalty after Ger McCarthy was upended on 18 minutes.
New signing Tony Bird, a Shelbourne target earlier this summer, then grabbed the second on 70 minutes. The former Cardiff City frontman headed home from Russell’s corner.
Cahill struck back for the home side nine minutes later ensuring a tense and frenetic finale but despite almost five minutes injury time, St Pat’s hung on for the three points.
The victory maintains St Pat’s 100 per cent league record and moves them above Shelbourne into second place with a game in hand over leaders Bohemians.
The two sides will have it all to do again next weekend when they meet in the FAI Carlsberg Cup.