National League/Premier Division/St Patricks Athletic - 1 Shelbourne - 3: After a week when Pat Fenlon agreed to take over at Bohemians then changed his mind, it was back to the old routine for the Shelbourne manager last night.
Despite falling behind to an early Keith Fahey free-kick, late goals by Glen Crowe and substitute Jamie Harris complemented a Gary O'Neill equaliser to secure three precious points.
In the early exchanges, Stuart Byrne went close to opening the scoring after just four minutes after taking advantage of sloppy home defending to get in on goal but he shot narrowly wide.
The home side shocked Fenlon's men when Fahey found the net with a stunning free-kick from 25 yards in the eighth minute after Seán Dillon had fouled Trevor Molloy.
Shelbourne reacted quickly and Glen Crowe headed narrowly wide from an Ollie Cahill cross in the 12th minute.
O'Neill duly restored parity when he took advantage of poor home defending to shoot home from close range in the 27th minute after goalkeeper Barry Ryan could only parry a Crowe strike.
Crowe was denied by Ryan once again in the 34th minute. The international striker's volley was top notch but Ryan got down brilliantly to push the ball wide. Ryan then showed good reflexes to keep out a volley from Bobby Ryan before the break.
The first half ended in controversy as Dillon was penalised for taking down Mark Rooney at the edge of the area in the 45th minute but only received a booking from referee Pat Whelan.
Fahey had Williams beaten again in the 59th minute with a cheeky curling drive from 35-yards but the ball smashed off the crossbar. The woodwork then denied Byrne at the other end as his left-footed strike beat Ryan but not the upright.
Jamie Harris's 81st minute introduction as substitute turned the game. Three minutes later he nodded down an Alan Moore corner for Crowe to spectacularly despatch past Ryan. In the 86th minute Harris raced onto a poor back pass by Stephen Brennan to slot home.
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Ryan; S Quigley, Brennan, C Foley, Frost, Fahey, Mulcahy, Murphy, Rutherford, Molloy, Rooney. Subs: Keegan for Molloy (72 mins); Armstrong for Rooney (81). Subs not used: M Foley, Grogan, Maguire.
SHELBOURNE: Williams; O'Halloran, Hawkins, Dillon, Rogers, Ryan, Ndo, S Byrne, Cahill, Crowe, O'Neill. Subs: Moore for Ndo (70); Kearney for Ryan (78); Harris for O'Neill (81). Subs not used: Delaney, Crawford.
Referee: P Whelan (Dublin).
