It was another case of the National League saving the worst until last. Two sides, who had produced 14 league goals in three league encounters this season, produced a Harp Lager FAI Cup final that rarely threatened to throw up even one. Even that would have been excusable had the spectacle been considerably better than it was but the quality of the football on show at Dalymount Park yesterday was decidedly poor and not too many of those who witnessed it will be awash with anticipation for next Saturday evening's replay at the same venue.

In fairness, it started promisingly; Stephen Geoghegan forcing a save from a couple of yards and both teams flinging themselves into the contest with admirable abandon. The opening crack at goal, however, had lacked conviction and little that happened in either goal area during the last hour of the game was any different. In short, this was a game that had had 0-0 written all over it from a long, long way before the end.

What was particularly disappointing was that few of those directly involved appeared to mind too much. City had taken a decisive upper hand in the match from the time Jason Kabia was replaced by the far more threatening John Caulfield 30 minutes from time but they remained cautious when it was time to drive home their advantage, while Shelbourne seemed more than happy to see time out and give it another shot next weekend.

The Dubliners made much of the state of the pitch afterwards; Pat Scully calling it "a disgrace" and saying that it alone had prevented the holders from playing their usual game. To put another disappointing display down to the playing surface, though, raises questions as to just how it was that Damien Richardson's side came as close as they did to winning the championship, for through the bulk of the season they seemed capable enough of dealing with the country's roughest rides.

What they clearly did struggle to cope with yesterday was the failure of their midfield department to turn in for work as usual. Last week suspension robbed them of Pat Fenlon and Dessie Baker. Yesterday the pair were back but clearly not able to come to grips with the task expected of them.

Fenlon was, as usual, a constant threat from set pieces. It was his free kick and Tony McCarthy's nod down that had led to Geoghegan's early chance and for a spell it seemed like it could only be a matter of time before somebody connected properly in the area.

The supply of opportunities gradually dried up, however, and any attempts to feed the ball into the danger zone from play were ably dealt with by City's central pairing of Derek Coughlan and Man of the Match Declan Daly.

The latter was particularly impressive, coping well in the air when Scully and McCarthy came visiting and putting an end to one of the Dubliners's most promising moves of the first period by, at full stretch, cutting out a low cross from Mark Rutherford which looked to be bound for a couple of his team-mates who were arriving at the far post.

Baker's afternoon could hardly have been enhanced by the industry of City's winger Ollie Cahill with the 22-year-old occasionally dropping back to out run and out challenge the former Manchester United youth. Greg Costello, however, came off even less well in his tussles with Cork's most threatening player.

The full-back might well have coped better had he been entirely fit but he wasn't even close to that with the result that Cahill's early runs down the left caused havoc in the Shelbourne defence; most notably in the fourth minute when it was left to Alan Gough to narrow the angle sufficiently to force his opponent into a hastily attempted shot which overflew the target.

Matters improved somewhat after the break when Dave Smith replaced Costello but the extent of Cahill's continued success should have persuaded his side to take the ball down more and try to play it. With Patsy Freyne lacking the speed out on the right to give the attack balance there were some difficulties to be overcome but with Johnny Glynn's height contributing little to the cause, the results would surely have been more productive than the endless string of hoofed clearances over the top.

Dave Hill did try to settle things but the closest his contribution came to being decisive was in the 25th minute when he started a move that ended with Cahill cutting inside and curling a shot just the wrong side of the right hand upright.

Caulfield, always willing to drop back deep and to run from there at McCarthy, exerted more acute pressure but even after he arrived the best chance Cork had to take the lead came from a corner which Coughlan did very well to turn goalwards only to see Smith rise smartly at the far post to clear off the line.

Had either Stephen Geoghegan or Liam Kelly gone that close to finding the net they might have gone home happy but the pair simply never clicked on the day and Kelly's rather hopeful and high thump at goal from 25 yards midway through the second half was as good as it got for them.

The supporters, to their credit, kept willing their respective teams on but how many will show up for a second instalment which takes place just a few hours after the FA Cup final at Wembley?

Cork City: Mooney; Napier, Coughlan, Daly, Cronin; Freyne, Flanagan, Hill, Cahill; Kabia, Glynn. Sub: Caulfield for Kabia (60 mins).

Shelbourne: Gough; Costello, McCarthy, Scully, D Geoghegan; Baker, Fitzgerald, Fenlon, Rutherford; S Geoghegan, Kelly. Sub: Smith for Costello (half-time).

Referee: G Perry (Dublin).