League Report: Cabinteely 1 - 2 Shelbourne

Goals from Jamie Doyle and James English were enough to see Shelbourne leave Stradbrook with a 2-1 win over Cabinteely, despite falling behind to Victor Ekanem’s opener.

Shelbourne threatened more in the game’s opening exchanges as they looked to hit their hosts with direct balls forward, with Cabo sitting back and breaking with Aji Sule and Evan Galvin.

However, it was Eddie Gormley’s side who went close first as Galvin played a pinpoint ball into the path of marksman Joe Doyle, who looked to exploit space in the channels. Doyle, unmarked on the right flank, looked to catch out Jack Brady in goal with a quick lobbed effort. The goalkeeper had his blushes spared as he managed to make it back in time to deny the forward.

Shelbourne then came close themselves after some patient build up. Dylan Kavanagh cut in from the left before unleashing a sublime right-footed effort. Unfortunately for Owen Heary’s men, the ball bounced back off the upright and rolled agonizingly across goal before being cleared.

Cabo continued to threaten on the break through Sule. The tricky forward powered through the Shels midfield and, after exchanging passes with Ben Hanrahan, drove a shot over Brady’s crossbar.

Shane Boyle should have given Cabo the lead as he found himself in acres of space at the edge of the box. After taking his time, his tame effort was turned behind by Brady.

It was from this corner that Boyle found Victor Ekanem for the opener. The captain showed great technical ability and precision to turn a bouncing ball goal-bound and into the bottom corner.

Shels heaped pressure on Jack Menton as they pushed for an equalizer, which came as Jamie Doyle eventually found the net in the 39^th minute. A deep cross from Dylan Kavanagh was not dealt with, and Doyle pounced on the lose ball to head beyond Menton, who might have come out earlier.

As half time neared, tackles began to fly in. Cian Kavanagh and Galvin saw themselves go into the referee’s book for two strong challenges.

After the break and despite playing against a strong wind, Cabinteely started well and limited Shelbourne’s chances.

Shelbourne’s frustration began to show and their patience ran thin. Daire Doyle and Cian Kavanagh were wasteful in attack, firing off target from long range, perhaps looking to use the wind in their favour.

Jamie Doyle then saw yellow for kicking the ball away as Cabinteely delayed over a free kick.

Cian Kavanagh almost put Shels in front for the first time. The midfielder showed quick feet to evade a couple of challenges before trying a clever dinked effort, which sailed just over the bar.

Shortly after coming off the bench, James English was eager to find the net as he found himself in space in the box only to turn his headed effort off target.

Menton was then called into action as O’Connor unleashed a fierce shot from range. Luckily, the strike was central and Menton managed to turn the ball behind for a corner.

The Reds persisted in their efforts to pick up all three points. Reece McEnteer found himself in the box but his pass was driven centre and harmlessly went all the way across goal.

After withstanding so much pressure, Cabinteely finally saw their point slip as English rose highest to head into the bottom corner and give the visitors a late winner.

Desperately trying to salvage a point, Cabinteely can feel hard done by as they saw Ekanem penalized for a foul on Brady in Shels’ goal as he looked set to tap into an open goal.

Cabinteely: Menton; Maher, McGovern, Brilly, Ekanem (C); Brennan, Boyle, Galvin (Hamzat 89); Hanrahan, Doyle, Sule (Fox 72).

Subs not used: Michael Kelly, Jamie Broderick, Lee Mitchell, Kevin Knight, Karl Byrne.

Bookings: Evan Galvin (42), Shane Boyle (63), Paul Fox (84).

Shelbourne: Brady; O'Connor, McEnteer, Browen, Tuite; D. Doyle (C), D. Kavanagh (Evans 74), C. Kavanagh, Shannon; Walshe (English 68), J. Doyle.

Subs not used: Greg Murray, Ryan Robinson, Conor Keeley, Dylan Grimes, Gavin Boyne.

Bookings: Cian Kavanagh (39), Adam O’Connor (54), Jamie Doyle (61), Lorcan Shannon (91).

Referee: Andrew Mullally.

Attendance: 250 (Estimate)

ExtraTime.ie Man of the Match: Evan Galvin (Cabinteely).