You would scarcely have guessed it from the antics of Damien Richardson, but Shelbourne's win in yesterday's FAI Cup second round replay at Tolka Park was as emphatic as anything they have achieved in the competition in the last three seasons.

With the singular passion of his trade, Richardson fretted and fumed, choosing to ignore the evidence of the plot unfolding on the pitch, to subject himself to another difficult afternoon.

Just a couple of yards away, on the other side of the touchline, it was a different story, however, as Shelbourne, cool and composed, dominated their opposition in a manner which made a mockery of the blank scoreline in the first game last Thursday.

Whereas caution was king at Oriel Park, courage and self assurance now ruled as the holders took control of the game in the opening minutes and didn't let go until almost all the venom had been drained from Dundalk's challenge.

It was not until the end of the third quarter that the visitors summoned the skill to breach the outer ring of Shelbourne's defence. And then, two excellent saves by Alan Gough from Peter Withnell and Tom McNulty, in the space of a minute, ensured that they survived.

Dundalk, who had travelled south in the hope of discovering the front line fluency to complement the defensive skills which had kept them competitive in the first game, were soon disillusioned. The gap between midfield and the front line was as great as ever, as Withnell and Brian Byrne waited in vain for the support runs from McNulty, Paul Carlyle and Ray Campbell.

And whereas their defence had stood firm against sporadic pressure at Oriel Park, it was soon in trouble here, as Shelbourne, stepping up the tempo, poured through the centre at regular intervals after Des Baker and Liam Kelly had contrived to open the first gap after only eight minutes.

Baker, doubtful until minutes before the kick-off, spurned the chance and aggravated an ankle injury in the process, but the pattern had been set. It mattered little that Baker departed almost immediately afterwards for his replacement, Dean Fitzgerald, proved so effective that Dundalk may well have felt that, from their perspective, the second situation was worse than the first.

To cap a black day for the losers they had Mick Doohan, their inspirational central defender, sent off by referee John Stacey for a second bookable offence in the 75th minute. Doohan, strapped for pace, held on to Liam Kelly's shirt in the prelude to his dismissal. Earlier, the referee had chosen to overlook two fouls by David Crawley which demanded action much more urgently.

It ought to be recorded, however, that the sending off was not primarily responsible for Dundalk's elimination from the competition. At that point, Shelbourne were two goals clear and rightly aggrieved that the lead wasn't even more after wayward finishing and Steve Williams's athleticism in goal had denied them on several occasions.

Shelbourne's change in strategy was apparent from the start, with Dave Campbell and Pat Fenlon much more enterprising in the pivotal roles in midfield and Tony Sheridan and Mark Rutherford likewise more committed on the flanks.

After snuffing out the Rutherford threat with disturbing ease in the first game, Dundalk can only have been apprehensive at the spectacle of the winger in full flight, taking on and beating Shane Redditch on this occasion. Sheridan, too, was much more influential yesterday.

Stephen Geoghegan was again marked absent from the winners' attack and when Baker departed after only 12 minutes, some feared for the new men in the Shelbourne side. In the event, they needn't have worried for Liam Kelly, in his first season with the club after joining from Home Farm, played sufficiently well to merit the Man of the Match award. Apart from a Crawley free kick, which Gough did well to hold in the 13th minute, Shelbourne's goalkeeper was not required to earn his keep until Dundalk's belated flurry.

At the other end, Williams produced some expansive saves to deny Fenlon, Kelly, Fitzgerald and Rutherford, in turn, and when he was beaten in the air by Scully he found Doohan ideally placed to make the goal-line clearance.

At that point, however, Shelbourne were already in front with Kelly's goal in the 19th minute. Greg Costello's venomous 25-yard free kick was knocked on to the crossbar by Williams, but Kelly reacted first to head home the rebound.

Their second goal in the 52nd minute resulted from a magnificent cross by Sheridan, which took out three defenders and gave Rutherford the chance of beating Wiliams at his near post with the header.

The winners should have had a penalty in the 78th minute when Rutherford, in full fight on goal, was clearly fouled by David Hoey, but at that stage it mattered little. Shelbourne had won and Dundalk, for the second year in succession, were cursing their luck in finding the Dubliners at the top of their form.

SHELBOURNE: Gough; Costello, Scully, McCarthy, D Geoghegan; Sheridan, Campbell, Fenlon, Rutherford; Baker, Kelly. Subs: Fitzgerald (12 mins) for Baker, Smith (67 mins) for Sheridan, Muir (86 mins) for Kelly.

DUNDALK: Williams; Redditch, Doohan, Brady, Crawley; Campbell, Melvin, McNulty, Carlyle; Withnell, Byrne. Subs: Hoey (50 mins) for Carlyle, Delaney (61 mins) for Redditch.

Referee: J Stacey (Athlone).