Preview: Shelbourne facing tough task against Croatia champions Rijeka

RTÉ News​

15 hours ago

Shelbourne are currently enjoying the main benefit of becoming SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division champions, as they travel to Croatia to take on Rijeka tonight.
Hard to comprehend, perhaps, off the back of a disappointing 4-0 aggregate defeat to Azerbaijan side Qarabag, which ended their Champions League involvement, however, with the title comes the champions' path, offering a range of routes to remain active in Europe.
Coupled with the fact that Joey O'Brien's side won their first encounter of the summer, beating Linfield over two legs, the Dublin club now find themselves potentially just 180 minutes away from guaranteed league phase football.
This week's European escapade comes in the guise of the Europa League, with Shels facing Rijeka, and should they progress, it would move the Tolka Park side into the play-off round, which sets up a shot of league phase in the second-tier competition.
Shels would face either PAOK from Greece or Austria's Wolfsberger, and that encounter would come with the safety blanket of a place in the league phase of the Conference League, where Shamrock Rovers proved more than competitive last season, staying active in Europe through the New Year and into the knockout stages.
And even if Shelbourne fail to overcome the Croatians, they get another shot at the league phase against the winners of Linfield or Vikingur from the Faroe Islands.
So everything to play for as the champions hit the road once again, this time to the Adriatic coast to take on the Croatian champions, who just kicked off their league campaign at the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Slaven Belupo.
Rijeka are also looking to kick-start their European campaign following a Champions League exit at the hands of Bulgarian side, Ludogorets; beaten in extra time last Wednesday.
Shelbourne were effectively out of the Qarabag tie after the first leg, following a disappointing 3-0 defeat at home, and sent a much-changed side into action for that away game last week.
The result, losing 1-0 on the night, matters little ahead of tonight's game, however, the game did offer the management and squad a great chance to start preparing early for this Europa League encounter.
And O'Brien appeared to be creating a template for future away days in European competition, which was evident on the night, with a very focused and disciplined performance, limiting the home side throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Unlucky to concede on the stroke of half-time through a John Martin own goal, Shels' response was excellent in the second half as they grew into the game from an attacking perspective and had chances to restore parity, while maintaining a solid structure at the back.
Shels also unveiled new goalkeeper, Wessel Speel, in that game, and the towering Dutchman looks a real addition to the team, while saving a penalty on his club debut.
Another benefit of European exposure for League of Ireland clubs is the ability to create momentum, especially if things are not proceeding as planned on the home front.
Shels' defence of their title has been a bit of a damp squib thus far, while also losing their inspirational manager, Damien Duff, on the eve of their European expedition, however, they bounced back from that solid outing in Baku by enjoying a 2-0 victory over Sligo Rovers on Saturday evening, and they will now take more positives into tonight's first leg.
Fourteen points is too much to make up with just ten games remaining, so Shelbourne will not be going back-to-back in the League of Ireland, however, just like St Pat's last year, this European experience should instil confidence to move up the table and eye qualification to do it all again next summer.
As for tonight's game, O'Brien will name a much stronger starting XI to take on the Croatians, with the main objective of remaining in the tie to take back to Dublin next week.
But they will be coming up against a strong side who will have seen plenty of vulnerabilities in this Shelbourne unit when viewing their past European games, and there is no doubt that Rijeka will come out on the front foot and look to take a commanding lead into the second leg.
O'Brien has been involved with Shelbourne over the past few years and was instrumental working alongside Duff to guide the team to the title, however, he is still attempting to put his own stamp on the current crop.
The former Ireland international and Premier League man has a wealth of experience in the game, and will be hoping that things have started to turn around over the past couple of games.
Defensive stability, combined with a hard-working unit in front, will be key for Shels to frustrate the hosts tonight, keeping things tight and offering little in the way of goalmouth chances.
The Dublin club are also at their most dangerous going direct and moving quickly from defence into attack, which brought a certain amount of joy last week, with John Martin proving a real nuisance against the Qarabag defence.
Shelbourne's out-of-possession performance will most likely have the most impact as to whether they can stay alive for the second leg, but they still possess a range of forwards who can hold up and link play, while bringing more than a modicum of physicality to the role, and they will be quietly confident that they can leave Croatia with a bit more than just a plucky performance.