Shelbourne maintained the pressure on league leaders Peamount as they took a 3-1 win at The Market’s Field, Noelle Murray taking centre-stage as the forward notched a brace to give her side all three points.

Murray’s first came from the spot, Shauna Pearson’s poorly timed tackle in the Treaty United leaving referee Ian O’Keefe no choice but to award a penalty, Murray finishing cooly in the top-left corner. Murray’s second was a marveling piece of skill, making a mockery of the Treaty defence before rifling her shot in the bottom right corner.

Orlagh Fitzpatrick produced a wonder-strike of her own in the last ten minutes but it wasn’t enough to win back a point, new signee Morgan Rees netting Shels’ third to seal all three points.

The first half saw Shelbourne dominate possession but fail to find the back of the net. Megan Smyth-Lynch proved to be a live-wire threat to the Treaty United defense, probing with her runs in behind.

Smyth-Lynch’s best chance of the half fell in the half-hour mark, the forward lacking the sufficient balance to pull off a daring volley attempt, hitting the deck as her shot narrowly skewed over Anne-Marie Ulliac’s goal.

The hosts opted to soak up the pressure and play on the break, Orlagh Fitzpatrick going close as her powerful effort from the edge of the box drew a strong save from Courtney Maguire to paw the ball away from her top-left corner.

As the first half dwindled to a close it became clear that each were lacking sufficient quality to find the breakthrough. The ball increasingly spent more and more time bobbling around the middle of the park, neither side able to able to break the lines with great effect and cut through the final third.

Just as Alban Hysa’s side looked to be playing out a successful first half, disaster struck as Keeva Keenan picked the ball up on the by-line and played a smart pass down the line to the on-rushing Noelle Murray. Murray latched on to the pass and was subsequently brought down by a poorly-timed Shauna Pearson tackle in the Treaty box.

Murray stepped up for the resultant penalty and buried the ball with deadly precision into the top-left corner, finally giving her side the lead after a frustrating opening 45 minutes.

It was Murray again who doubled her side’s lead just five minutes after play resumed, this time with a spectacular display of intricate footwork. Murray initially caught the ball on the edge of the Treaty box following a poor clearance from Sarah Duke Power. The number 10 then flicked the ball over the head of Leah Martin, before taking it down, dropping to the left and rifling her shot across goal and into the right corner.  

From that point on, Shels were able to see out the game comfortably, new signee Morgan Rees netting a third to cancel out a fantastic long-range effort from Treaty’s Orlagh Fitzpatrick ten minutes prior. The win takes Shels three points shy of Peamount,  their title push continuing next Saturday as they welcome Athlone Town to Tolka Park. 

Treaty travel down to Ferrycarrig Park next week where they’ll hope to get a result against a Wexford Youths side that has so far failed to reach last season’s heights.