St Patrick's Ath - 2 Shelbourne - 1 Talk of league and cup doubles may seem just a bit premature less than two months into the new season but around Richmond Park last night they celebrated one over Shelbourne as if January was already upon us and they'd made a clean sweep of the silverware.
Stuart Byrne almost spoilt the party four minutes from time with an equalising goal that had eluded Shelbourne for the best part of a passionate and at times fiery contest.
But when Martin Russell's angled free from the right two minutes into injury-time was helped past the late, desperate lunge of Chris Bennion by a glancing touch from the head of Paul Osam, there was simply no way back for Pat Fenlon's side.
It was a gripping end to a match that had come alive over the course of a hard fought second half. The handful of bookings dished out and the sending off in the dying seconds of Fenlon gave some idea of the tension involved in the occasion during the game.
But the prolonged taunting from the pitch afterwards by local fans of Shelbourne official Ollie Byrne gave a clearer indication of what the result meant to the home club's loyalists.
That their side had won might have been a little hard on a Shelbourne side that had never let up in their effort to avoid defeat but the hosts simply had too many heroes - man of the match Darragh Maguire, stand in left back Paul Marney and as ever their set-piece marvel Russell stood out in particular - for them on the night.
A Russell penalty in the 34th minute had given the home side the lead but that aside there was barely a decent attempt on goal in the game's first half.
Both sides certainly worked frantically enough to get the ball forward but neither showed the required composure to put their opponents under any really telling pressure.
Though the visitors had a couple of cracks at the target from just inside the area before going behind, it was injury-time before Seamus Kelly was required to make what could be described as a save with Tony McCarthy finally forcing the goalkeeper into pushing a low driven shot wide with his legs.
Bennion had no more to do but after Barry Prenderville had been penalised for catching Ger McCarthy from behind and Russell stepped up for the spot kick, the Shelbourne goalkeeper found himself getting virtually his first touch of the evening as he picked the ball out of the net.
It was a bad blow for Fenlon's side who had felt after last week's defeat in Tolka that they had been good enough to get something out of the game but had still come away empty handed after the 90 minutes.
The first goal Shelbourne conceded in the league game had also come from a Russell penalty and it too had been awarded for a foul on McCarthy, but from far from being able to pull themselves level the northsiders had fallen further behind and then spent the closing stages chasing a lost cause.
As they set about doing slightly better last night they couldn't have been faulted for their effort but they were badly hindered in their attempts by the absence of several experienced strikers that left them for much of the second half chasing an equaliser with Ollie Cahill and Jim Gannon up front.
With a few minutes to go it was starting to look a lost cause when almost out of nothing Cahill's cross was lofted over Kelly by Stuart Byrne who injured himself in his desperation to make contact. Fleetingly that seemed like the end to the night but with just four minutes of regular time, it turned out, the real action was only starting.
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Kelly; Croly, Foley, Maguire, Marney; Griffin (Kelly, 64 mins), Osam, Russell; Mbabazi (Hughes (Holt, 84 mins), 23 mins), McCarthy, Bird.
SHELBOURNE: Bennion; Heary, Prenderville, McCarthy, Crawley; R Baker, Crawford (D Byrne, 61 mins), S Byrne (Fenlon, 87 mins), Houlihan; Cahill; Roberts (Gannon, 66 mins).
Referee: A Kelly (Cork)
