SOCCER/Shelbourne 1 Longford Town 1: After the weeks of quiet graft in the shadow of their league-leading neighbours, Shelbourne finally discovered last night that life in the spotlight doesn't quite suit them. Emmet Malone at Tolka Park.
Their win in Derry last Thursday combined with the draw between Bohemians and Drogheda 24 hours later meant for the first time this season it was Pat Fenlon's men who were calling the shots.
Their command of the situation was to prove short-lived, however, as their inability to beat relegation strugglers Longford handed the initiative straight back to their rivals, who could now wrap up the title if they can come here and win on Sunday afternoon.
The point moves Shelbourne at least a step closer to the UEFA Cup next season, but that will have come as little consolation at the end of a game in which they consistently looked the better side without ever managing to subdue determined opposition.
Having trailed for nearly half an hour after Sean Francis had scored his first goal in a Longford shirt, the Dubliners appeared to be back on course for the win they needed thanks to Jim Gannon's equaliser shortly before half-time.
The winner, though, was to prove far more elusive, and as they reflect on what might have been around Drumcondra this morning and attempt to pick themselves up for Sunday's crucial visit of Bohemians they will find it hard to forget terrible misses by Mark Roberts early in the first half and Stephen Geoghegan midway through the second; either one of would have moved them to within a win of overtaking Bohemians with just two games remaining.
Though Shelbourne enjoyed the better part of the second half's possession, the game was surprisingly well-balanced even then, with Fenlon's men obliged to throw bodies forward in search of a winning goal and Longford making good use of the space left in front of them almost every time they won the ball.
Towards the end of what was an increasingly lively and desperately fought out match, one in which referee Damien Hancock more than once played a controversial part, the hosts had further chances to grab a winner, though, and the dismay of the home side's players was obvious as the visitors held on through a combination of some luck and much hard work to take a point that casts further gloom over Bray's position at the other end of the table.
Longford's hunger was abundantly obvious from the word go. In almost every area of the pitch Alan Matthews' side quickly set about making a battle of the game, the exception being up front where the repeated attempts to involve Francis and Eric Lavine in things with chipped balls forward merely handed the stronger Shelbourne defenders a succession of easy headers with which to get their side moving up field again.
When finally the visitors edged far enough down one of the flanks to provide their strikers with something bearing more of a resemblance to a cross, however, Francis promptly made the difference tell. The former Shamrock Rovers striker hadn't scored since arriving at Flancare Park on transfer deadline day, but with a delicate glancing header he beat Steve Williams high inside his near post and left Longford with an unlikely lead to defend.
They set about the task in a rather rugged fashion, but Shelbourne at least knew that they were in for a tough time if they were first going to haul themselves back into the game and then extract the win from the evening that they so badly needed.
In midfield, neither Jim Crawford nor Stuart Byrne seemed capable of engineering the usual yard or two they manage before deciding on the best way forward, and the two wide men, Richie Baker and Ollie Cahill, made barely any impact in the face of tireless work by the visiting defence.
Baker did at least manage a couple of cracks at the target from the edge of the area, the second one dipping just the wrong side of the crossbar and briefly fooling a few supporters as it sat in the netting.
With six minutes of the first half to play, however, the locals finally hammered out their equaliser from a corner when Crawford's ball was turned towards Gannon by Byrne, after which the big defender got just enough power on his header to push the ball over the line.
The goal provided welcome hope for the home support, but their evening was to end in despair with the draw leaving Bohemians back in the driving seat of this championship race.
SHELBOURNE: Williams; Heary, Doherty, Gannon, Crawley; R Baker, S Byrne, Crawford, Cahill (Beavers, 75 mins); Hoolahan, Roberts (Geoghegan, 58 mins).
LONGFORD TOWN: O'Brien; Dillon, Ferguson, Silke, John; Kirby, Sheridan, Perth, Byrne (Mulvihill, 79 mins); Lavine, Francis.
Referee: D Hancock (Dublin).
