The standard joke before this game was that Monaghan's management team of Shelbourne old-boys, Bobby Browne and Garry Howlett, would dust off their playing boots and line out against their old club. It didn't seem such a laughable notion 10 minutes from time when Paul Doolin completed a comfortable win for the league leaders with his second goal of the afternoon.

Doolin, 37 years old and with the sort of medal collection that could fill a Merrion Square museum, isn't quite an automatic choice at Tolka Park anymore but he underlined yesterday why he is far from being surplus to requirements.

If Dermot Keely wanted to niggle he could point to a firsthalf Pat Fenlon free kick that Doolin really should have headed home from six yards, but in the circumstances the Shelbourne boss was prepared to overlook the slip-up and marvel with the rest of us at the veteran midfielder's endless ability to contribute at this level.

The first goal was a gift, with James O'Callaghan and his goalkeeper, Robert Hannon, becoming embroiled in a mix-up from which Doolin profited but, as Keely pointed out: "It was intelligence. Paul would be on top of something before another player would even spot that there was something on.

"The second", he added of the former Derry City and Bohemians players's side-footed shot late on, "was a great finish, but for him to be even playing that late in the game amazes me."

The player himself, while clearly enjoying the moment, pointed out that he had scored in the first round last year too. "I don't get too many these days but I got one against St Francis, so with a bit of luck today will turn out to have been a bit of an omen."

Were Shelbourne not in such a commanding position in the league, then the finishing of the rest of the team might have been regarded as ominous.

On another day the home side might have scored four times during the first half of what turned out to be a highly entertaining game. It was certainly a little puzzling that they weren't more than one up at the break.

Having played a part in the mix-up that led to the first goal, Hannon almost handed Shelbourne a second late in the half, the young goalkeeper throwing the ball in front of him and then slipping as he ran towards it. Dessie Baker was on hand to capitalise on the error but somehow sent his slightly rushed shot into the side netting.

The miss aside Dessie, like his younger brother Richie, had another fine game for the current Cup holders. The pair were key figures as the Dubliners showed just how well they could push the ball around as they moved into the last third of the pitch.

Monaghan, playing with five at the back and just one up front, actually coped well with the frantic pace of it all. However, they were never allowed to slow things down, and their passing moves often broke down, with possession surrendered before they had made any serious inroads into the opposition's half of the pitch.

A goal down after three minutes, the formation looked to handicap the visitors as they tried to get back level and lone striker Damian McKenna, try as he might, rarely gave the Shelbourne defence cause for concern.

Peter Rogers, on the other hand, forced a stunning save from Steve Williams in the first half and continued to pose United's greatest threat from central midfield for most of the game.

Afterwards Browne spoke of Rogers's contribution in glowing terms but went on to observe that several of his players had gotten the better of their Shelbourne counterparts which looked, from the stands at least, a difficult enough claim to stand over. Williams, in fact, had only a couple of real stops to make and most of the visiting side's attempts on his goal came from long range as the likes of Paul Smyth and, late on, Ken Lundy opted to shoot early rather than try to outpace the Shelbourne defence.

While the margin between the two sides remained just one goal, an equaliser was never out of the question and United finally started to chase one in earnest with 13 minutes remaining when they threw on Lundy to partner McKenna up front. Almost inevitably Doolin promptly doubled the lead but even then last year's double winners might at least have had to fight for their win if Avery John, already on a booking, had received the sending off he clearly deserved for a desperately late challenge on Eddie Meier.

Bewilderingly the defender got away with it and Shelbourne drifted through the closing stages. On balance, the 2-0 scoreline was a fair reflection of the match, even if it would have been nice to see the First Division side grab something for their efforts.

"The fact is that you can't give the league leaders a start like that and then expect to get anything out of the game," said Browne afterwards. "Our keeper let us down a couple of times and we paid the price for it but for all that I'm delighted for the fans because I thought we put on a show out there this afternoon. "And most of all," he added with some justification "I'm terribly proud of all my players because I thought they did very well."

Shelbourne: Williams; Heary, Scully, John, D Geoghegan; R Baker, Doolin, Fenlon, Hutchison (Keddy, 54 mins); D Baker (Sheridan, 81 mins), S Geoghegan (Foran, 70 mins).

Monaghan United: Gill, Carroll (White, 73 mins), McArville, Scully, O'Callaghan Lundy, (77 mins); Meier, Grendon, Rogers, Smyth; McKenna.

Referee: J Feighery (Dublin).