A confident first half performance saw Shelbourne emerge 3-0 winners over Wexford Youths on a night when both sides ended the match with ten men.
Dylan Connolly opened the scoring early on before Jake Donnelly tacked on a second goal – and minutes before half-time William McDonagh scored the third from the penalty spot.
Connolly dominated the match and began with a terrific solo goal. After 4 minutes the Ireland under-19 international scored after a mazy run around several Youths players took him from midfield right up to the Wexford goal. A calm finish cemented a memorable goal, with the ball simply rolled past Graham Doyle.
Complacency seemed to be an issue for Shelbourne after the goal, with Johnny McDonnell’s side giving the ball away carelessly for a period of play. Youths were not able to take advantage though and had to wait nearly a half an hour for their first real shot on target.
Shels eventually found their feet though and again it was Connolly at the heart of a goal. Another mazy run saw him brought down on the edge of the Youths box and amid some confusion the ball bobbled through for Jake Donnelly in the box to supply an easy finish.
Youths picked up two bookings in the first half and it was a sloppy tackle that led to the third goal. Jimmy Dermody brought down Lee Murtagh in the Wexford penalty area. William McDonagh converted the resulting penalty kick, but had to take it twice after the referee ordered his first successful attempt to be retaken.
CJ Browne brought down Lee Murtagh near the Youths box in the opening minutes of the second half, leading to a second yellow card for the Wexford defender. After that Shelbourne tried to spread the play wide and keep the ball in a bid to press home their numerical advantage.
Youths dug in though and were a stubborn defensive unit to break down – meaning that the second half wasn’t much of a spectacle.
Shelbourne’s Lee Murtagh received his marching orders after getting a second yellow card on 72 minutes, and the sides were level again. Wexford’s best chance to pull a goal back came just after that, with Danny Furlong shooting just wide with a low, powerful effort.
The match was a bit less one-sided in the final fifteen minutes, but 3-0 remained the score at full-time.
Shelbourne FC: Greg Murray; Philip Hand, Adam O’Connor, Lee Desmond, Brian Gannon; William McDonagh [Ryan Robinson ‘75], Jake Donnelly [Robbie Gaul ’54]; Dylan Connolly, Jordan Keegan, Darren Tinnelly [Gareth Coughlan ‘29]; Lee Murtagh.
Subs Not Used: Nathan Murphy, Adam McDonnell, Lee Duffy, Dylan Cashin.
Yellow Cards: Lee Murtagh.
Red Cards: Lee Murtagh.
Wexford Youths: Graham Doyle; Peter Higgins, Jimmy Dermody, Killian Cantwell, CJ Browne; Craig Wall [Daryl Power ‘81], Dean Broaders, Craig Shortt, Aiden Keenan [Johnny St. Ledger ‘83], Danny Furlong; Ben Ryan.
Subs Not Used: Danny Niekis, Ryan Delaney, Darragh Walsh.
Yellow Cards: Craig Shortt, CJ Browne.
Red Cards: CJ Browne.
Referee: Kevin O’Regan.
Attendance: 561 (official).
Extratime.ie Player of the Match: Dylan Connolly.
