After a scrappy start, Russell's penalty opener on 18 minutes helped settled the game down.

That resulted from a foul on Ger McCarthy by Jim Crawford with Russell drilling home from the spot.

Shels dominated much of the game from there on but were caught by a classic St. Pat's set-piece on 70 minutes as Pat Dolan's side went 2-0 up.

Russell whipped over a pacey corner and Bird rose superbly at the back post to head home.

Ollie Cahill got Shels back into it with a fine goal on 79 minutes but St. Pat's had enough resolve to hold on for a rousing win that moves them up to second in the table.