Martin winner denies Dundalk and keeps Shels at summit

The ingenuity of Will Jarvis – and the toe of John Martin – ensured that Shelbourne maintained their place atop the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table.

Starting the season with nine matches unbeaten, Damien Duff’s men barged their way to the top of the table earlier this year.

However, a negative result here would have allowed Derry City – who beat Galway United 2-0 this evening – a valuable chance to summit the table.

Ultimately, that did not happen as Shels marked Duff’s 100th game in charge with a win.

Dundalk, meanwhile, returned to the root of the table following a brief stint in ninth place.

The Lilywhites won’t be too disheartened though. Appointed just two weeks ago, manager Jon Daly has replenished the club’s fighting spirit.

FULL MATCH DETAILS

That said, luck was against Dundalk from the off. An injury in the warm-up saw 19-year-old goalkeeper Sean Molloy make his debut from the start.

A series of early stoppages saw the game stutter to life.

Dundalk have the second-worst defensive record in the league this season but looked structurally sound under the orders of Daly tonight.

Counter-attacking, Jarvis made the night’s first notable breakaway. Charging down the right, the 21-year-old snipped a ball through for Evan Caffrey. However, Daryl Horgan had sprinted from 50 yards to keep up with the play and launch his body before Caffrey’s touch.

The Republic of Ireland international was central again moments later as he rifled a defence-splitting pass to Jamie Gullan.

A clean touch would lead through on goal, however, the Scot pulled up with an injury that forced his substitution minutes later.

Introduced at half-time, Liam Burt set about tormenting Dundalk’s midfield.

Breaking down the right, the Shamrock Rovers loanee ripped a cross through the six-yard box – but there was no red shirt to poke the ball home.

The Reds were warming up and with 20 minutes to go, the opener finally arrived.

Facing Archie Davies on the left, Jarvis opened up his body before pulling the ball down the end line. From there, he drove into the box and snipped the ball to Martin who tapped in. The winner marked Jarvis’ 11th goal contribution of the season, an impressive stat at this stage of the season.

As Tolka Park found its voice, the Lilywhites sought to silence it. Horgan looked most likely to craft any equaliser and found Eoin Kenny, who pounded a shot onto the cross-bar.

The visitors upped their tempo, but Shels committed fouls in all the right areas to extinguish Dundalk’s momentum.

Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Sean Gannon, Paddy Barrett, Gavin Molloy, Tyreke Wilson; JJ Lunney, Mark Coyle (John O’Sullivan, 65); Evan Caffrey (Dean Williams, 65), Matty Smith (Liam Burt, HT), Will Jarvis (Kameron Ledwidge, 81); John Martin (Shane Farrell, 85).

Dundalk: Sean Molloy; Archie Davies, Andy Boyle, Zak Johnson, Mayowa Animasahun (Robbie Benson, HT); Paul Doyle, John Mountney, Hayden Muller (Eoin Kenny, 62); Daryl Horgan, Jamie Gullan (Cameron Elliott, 26), Ryan O’Kane (Samuel Durrant, 76).

Referee: Damien MacGraith.