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It was the first time these two sides had met since former Bohemians trio Bobby Ryan, Glen Crowe and Colin Hawkins transferred to Shels during the off-season.
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However, with Hawkins suspended and Crowe on the bench, Ryan was the main target of the home fans' anger. There was a chorus of boos when the winger's name was called out during the pre-game announcements, and the Limerick man was roundly jeered every timed he touched the ball.
The Bohs supporters were well prepared for the arrival of the players with flags around the ground reading: "Crowe/Ryan = Judas" and "Ryan, Crowe Welcome To Hell!".
Not to be outdone, the away fans brought their own "J€alou$" banner. The implication, of course, being that the Drumcondra club are now the financial heavyweights of the eircom League.
The game itself was a feisty affair from the off and only five minutes had elapsed before the first yellow card was shown. Shelbourne defender Dave Rogers was the winner of that dubious distinction for a scything challenge from behind on Tony Grant.
The home side made most of the early running, but it was Shels who made the breakthrough on 17 minutes when Alan Moore grabbed his first goal of the current campaign.
Ryan played a clever ball into the path of Joseph Ndo and the former Cameroon international made his way to the by-line before pulling the ball back to the unmarked Moore in the middle of the box.
A heavy touch seemed to spell the end of the chance for the striker, but he reshuffled his feet just in time to enable him to get a sweet left-footed shot off and past Matt Gregg, as the Bohs defenders converged on him.
The Gypsies almost equalised five minutes later and they would have if Rogers had not come to the rescue of Shels. Goalkeeper Steve Williams failed to gather a long throw into the away side's box and the ball eventually made its way to Stephen Ward who saw his goal-bound effort diverted over the bar by the head of Rogers.
After that scare the visitors settled down and looked pretty comfortable until disaster struck on the half-hour. A lack of communication in their own box saw Dave Crawley and Ollie Cahill jump for the same ball, which resulted in a nasty head collision.
Both players had to leave the field, meaning Shels' left side was taken out of the game. It was obvious that Cahill wasn't going to able to return and so Glen Fitzpatrick immediately came on in his place.
The champions believed that Crawley would be able to recover and so decided to play on with ten men while he received treatment for a facial wound.
It proved to be a fatal mistake.
Just three minutes after play resumed after the stoppage, Bohemians player/manager Gareth Farrelly had his side back on terms. The midfielder raced on to a lovely lay-off from Grant to sidefoot a shot to the right corner that left Williams clutching at air.
Eager to press home their numerical advantage, Bohs heaped pressure on the Shels rearguard and they were rewarded again in the 40th minute. A powerful downward header from Dominic Foley was excellently cleared off the line by the feet of Williams, but the ball fell kindly to the perfectly positioned Ken Oman, who powered home from 10 yards out.
Shels brought on Jim Crawford just before the break to prevent any further goals being shipped. It was a case of too little, too late, however, as the damage had already been done.
Bohs should have been 3-1 up in the 56th minute when a delightful flick took the impish John Paul Kelly past Rogers before he slid a pass through to Foley to leave the striker with only Williams to beat.
But the Cork native pondered over the ball too long, which allowed Ryan the time to make a desperate last-ditch tackle to keep his new side in the game.
Shelbourne's best chance to equalise came and went in the 75th minute when Jamie Harris nodded inches wide of the right post after Crawford chipped a cross to the edge of the penalty area.
Crowe came on for Ndo moments later, but he made little impact as his old club closed out the game with little fuss.
Man-of-the-match Kelly, who is still only 17, almost put a gloss on the final result for the winners when his audacious attempt from a tight angle from the right side of the area came crashing off the post with Williams stranded.
One of the loudest cheers of the night came seconds from the end when Shels frontman Jason Byrne, who had an ineffectual night under the watchful eye of Irish manager Brian Kerr, mis-hit a backpass to hand the Gypsies a corner.
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The home fans rejoiced at the final whistle knowing that they had inflicted the first league defeat of the season on their nearest neighbours.
Courtesy of rte.ie
Other Results:
Cork City 2-0 Derry City
O'Callaghan 55
O'Flynn 82
St Patrick's Athletic 0-1 Longford Town
Myler 50
UCD 0-0 Shamrock Rovers
Waterford United 0-3 Drogheda United
Whelan 4
Malcolm 23
Purcell 48 og
| P | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Shelbourne | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
 Cork | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
 Drogheda Utd | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 20 |
 Derry City | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
 Bohemians | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 16 |
 Waterford | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
 Longford Town | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
 Bray | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
 St Patricks | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
 UCD | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
 Finn Harps | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
 Shamrock | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 |