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Shelbourne 1 Sporting Fingal 2
Tuesday, 10 November 2009 10:30
Stunning goals from Eamon Zayed and Shaun Williams put FAI Ford Cup finalists Sporting Fingal through to a promotion/relegation play-off final with Bray Wanderers.

Despite starting well, Shelbourne can have few complaints as they face a thrid season in the First Division.

Sporting host Bray in the first leg of the play-off final on Friday night with the return at Carlisle Grounds on Monday.

Shels began well, dominating the opening exchanges, but Sporting's quality on the counterattack proved crucial as they won the game with two cracking goals before half time.

The opening striker came on 39 minutes when Conan Byrne showed good feet before putting Gary O’Neill away on the right. O’Neill turned Alan Keely inside out to cut in and cross for Zayed to volley sublimely first time to the net.

It got worse for Shels within two minutes when Williams punished further poor defending to advance unchallenged and drill a sublime left-foot strike into Dean Delaney's bottom left corner from 20 yards.

Shels had to respond and they laid siege to the Sporting goal in the final quarter and were rewarded by a somewhat dubious penalty award on 72 minutes when David Cassidy went down under a challenge from Stephen Paisley that looked outside the box. David McAllister shot the penalty under the body of Darren Quigley.

Anto Flood was then sent off for pushing Quigley over in trying to retrieve the ball from the back of the net, his second booking in five minutes.

Shelbourne: Delaney; Synnott, Brennan, Keely (Quigley, 56 mins.), Hedderman; Baker, Cassidy (C. O‘Brien, 85 mins.), M. O’Brien (Hynes, 56 mins.), McAllister, Doyle; Flood.

Sporting Fingal: Quigley; Gannon, Maher, Paisley, Fitzgerald; James, McFaul, Williams; C. Byrne, O’Neill (Corcoran, 90+3 mins.), Zayed.

Referee: Tom Connolly (Dublin).
 
 
 
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