Dan Kelly's late winner secures huge derby win for Shelbourne at Richmond Park

St Patrick's Athletic 0 Shelbourne 1 St Patrick's Athletic have been scoring for fun at home in 2026, but this derby didn't follow that script as Shelbourne struck late on to earn the bragging rights and continue their remarkable form on the road. After a five-goal thriller when the sides met in March, clear-cut chances were sparse here and as the clock ticked down it looked like the 5,000-strong Richmond Park crowd were in for a stalemate. But it was a pair of Shels substitutes who combined with just minutes left as a wonderful Rodrigo Freitas pass cut right through the Saints' defence and Dan Kelly produced the finish that was enough to secure a huge three points for the Drumcondra outfit. Joey O'Brien's side rise two places fifth and are now unbeaten in four having suffered a difficult start to the campaign before May, while second-placed St Pat's missed the chance to earn a win which would have put them level with leaders Shamrock Rovers after their first defeat in six. The hosts finished the night with 10 men as Seán Hoare was shown a late red card following an incident in the box, and Stephen Kenny's side could have nicked a point late on but Luke Turner's header hit the crossbar. Chasing shadows: Milan Mbeng of Shelbourne, left, in action against Luke Turner of St Patrick's Athletic. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile Shels held on though and the post-match scenes with the packed travelling support showed how much this one meant, with O'Brien's side beating their cross-city rivals for the first time in almost a year. Richmond Park has seen several goal-fests so far this year but here there were more injury stoppages than chances in the opening half. St Pat's started with intent as a clever Chris Forrester flick allowed James Brown a chance on goal but the winter arrival from Kilmarnock saw his shot sail high over Wessel Speel's crossbar. It took Shels 10 minutes to threaten for the first time, with Ali Coote driving from deep and slotting Harry Wood through. It looked like the forward's deflected effort would nestle in the bottom corner, but Joseph Anang, who will hope to earn a place in Ghana's World Cup squad in the coming days, got across in the nick of time to claw it around the post. Then came the stoppages. Shels front-man John Martin was cautioned for a late tackle on Jamie Lennon before Saints defender Luke Turner mistimed his challenge on Kerr McInroy right in front of the visiting dugout. Once Turner shook off the whiplash, he was dismayed to find he was being booked but the Shels bench were adamant it should have been more. Shels midfielder McInroy came out on the wrong end of a crunching challenge minutes later, much to the delight of the home support who felt the Scot should have at least been booked, but the visitors went in at the break lucky to be ahead. Just before the half-hour mark, Zach Elbouzedi performed his trademark charge down the left flank and whipped in a perfect cross towards, Ryan Edmondson, who had plenty of space in the Shels box thanks to some poor tracking by Zeno Ibsen Rossi, but the English striker was just a fraction of a second too late to tap home. McInroy was unable to continue for the second half as Evan Caffrey was deployed into the midfield, and having not threatened much at all across the opening half, it took O'Brien's side just one minute to go close after the restart with their best move of the night. After moving the ball through the lines confidently, Will Jarvis did well to slot Wood in on the edge of the box, with his shot well blocked by Saints defender Hoare. However the ball fell kindly to an unmarked Milan Mbeng at the back post, who saw his bullet effort denied by the upright, bounce down on the line and out to safety. It would have been the perfect way for the Frenchman to mark his first start in almost three months after returning from a hamstring injury. Shelbourne supporters celebrate after their side's victory at Richmond Park. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile The Reds, wearing black armbands following the passing of Elizabeth Barrett – the mother of their captain Paddy – looked a different side after the break with Wood, Coote and Jarvis much more involved in the attacking third. Anang had to be alert to Martin's header as the final 20 minutes approached, but the Saints had settled back into things at that stage and were probing for an opener themselves. Portuguese striker Rodrigo Freitas was introduced for the closing stages for Shels but didn't make the instant impact he would have liked, picking up a booking just seconds after coming on for arguing to the referee after a penalty shout. The substitute made the decisive impact with eight minutes left on the clock though, with an expert ball from deep through to Kelly who kept his cool and fired into the bottom corner for his fifth goal of the season. Shels had to survive a barrage of late corners, in between Hoare's straight red card, but seconds after Saints defender Turner was denied by the upright, the referee's final whistle sparked ecstatic scenes in the away section. The Reds' support haven't had much to shout about at Tolka so far this season but on their travels, yet again they were richly rewarded. St Patrick's Athletic: Anang; Hoare, Redmond, Turner; Elbouzedi, Lennon (Rooney 89), Forrester (Nugent 76), Baggley (Palmer 76), Brown (McClelland 89); Leavy, Edmonson (Keena 80). Shelbourne: Speel; Bone, Ibsen Rossi, Ledwidge; Mbeng (Gannon 58), Lunney, McInroy (Caffrey 46), Jarvis (Freitas 73); Coote (Kelly 58), Wood; Martin (Chapman 88). Referee: R Hennessy