St. Patricks Athletic and Shelbourne F.C. played out the game of the season in a tense Dublin derby at Tolka Park on Monday evening, with Stephen Kenny's Pats overcoming Shelbourne 3-2 by way of an 88th-minute winner.
While the loss may have been a missed opportunity for Shelbourne to add to their four-point lead at the top of the table, for a St.Pats side who only weeks ago looked destined for a relegation battle, it was another three points closer to European qualification.
Now just two points off the top four and seven off leaders Shelbourne, Stephen Kenny sought to manage hopes, claiming a league win was out of the question and European qualification would be no small task.
No winning the league (is not a possibility) it's not really. No I think we've too much ground to make up and we're not contenders.
Even for that (European Qualification) we've a lot of work to do. A lot of work to do. We've four tough games, gotta play away to Bohemians, we've got Derry and Galway and we've got to go away to Sligo so we've real tough games so we've a lot to do.
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Stephen Kenny ecstatic about late winner in Tolka Park
Only a number of weeks ago there were fears on the streets of Inchicore that St. Patricks Athletic could be heading for the second tier of Irish football for the first time in their history, a result that would've ruined their record as the only team never to be relegated.
However, back in his kingdom, Stephen Kenny has turned the ship around with St. Patricks now boasting five wins on the trot having routed Shamrock Rovers last Friday evening before beating close rivals Shelbourne in sensational fashion last night. Speaking about that rivalry and the fact Shelbourne had won the three previous encounters this season, Stephen Kenny said:
I've only played against them once (before). I'd only just taken over, it was a strange week, I took over on a Thursday and by the next six days I'd played against Ruadhrí Higgins, Damien Duff and Alan Reynolds and of course I've worked with three of them so it was a bit surreal for me, I couldn't even get my head around it, but Shels got a late winner last night to beat us in Inchicore and tonight was our night when we got the late winner.
The players are delighted, it's a different feeling to winning on Friday when we beat Shamrock Rovers, it was a good win, obviously an emphatic win 3-0, but one of the players said sometimes its better winning like that, not for me as a manager don't get me wrong, I don't want to go through that, conceding two goals, but Shelbourne's goals were high quality as well.
Despite Shelbourne enjoying the majority of possession and at least their share of chances, it was St. Pats who found the nets against the run of play for both the opening and second goal, giving them a healthy 2-0 lead heading into the final quarter of football.
However as Tolka Park came alive, Shelbourne found their shooting boots and fired back-to-back goals past Joseph Anang in the 76th and 80th minute to draw the affair level with ten minutes to play.
Matty Smith makes it Shelbourne 2-2 St Patrick's Athletic with a wonderstrike at Tolka Park.
📱Updates: https://t.co/5wZW6YjqYG
📺Watch: https://t.co/uHRfiPJEjQ pic.twitter.com/dAzUR70Odt— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 30, 2024
On the hunt for a third goal, a dramatic winner looked to be on the cards for the home side, but instead, it was the lightening young pairing of Mason Melia and Al-Amin Kazeem who nabbed a late winner for St. Pats and put Shelbourne to the sword. A play that Kenny hailed post-match.
There was a lot of good play, Zac down the right for Mason, brilliant, done it on his left foot, and then Al-Amin scoring the goal. It was a great way to win it.
Al-Amin Kazeem gives St Patrick's Athletic a 3-2 lead in a Tolka Park thriller.
📱Updates: https://t.co/5wZW6YjqYG
📺Watch: https://t.co/uHRfiPJEjQ pic.twitter.com/KFTslidZFA— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 30, 2024
Kazeem's finish not only marked his first professional goal but came just moments after he and his assistant manager Brian Gartland had been involved in a side-line altercation with Damien Duff after they encroached into the Shelbourne technical area.
Last night's result leaves St. Patricks Athletic fifth in the table on 47 points, two points behind fourth-place Galway, who Stephen Kenny's men will have to overtake if they're to qualify for European football next season.
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