Preview: Shelbourne on cusp of European breakthrough

RTÉ News​

5 days ago

Shelbourne face into the biggest European night at Tolka Park in a generation with a one-goal advantage as as Croatian side Rijeka come to Dublin for a Europa League third round play-off second leg.
The Reds recorded an outstanding 2-1 victory by the Adriatic last week, producing a superb second half to come from behind and bring a lead back to Ireland.
The winner of the tie will be guaranteed outright qualification for the Conference League and with it a €3.7million prize.
Vikingur or Linfield await the loser in a play-off, which is a nice fallback, but Shels will feel a golden opportunity awaits after their first leg heroics.
It could be argued that Joey O'Brien's side found Riejka at the perfect moment last week.
They suffered an agonising defeat in extra-time to Ludogorets and were depleted from suspensions stemming from that clash.
Toni Fruk is tipped for a move to a top league in the future and he returns from a ban for this second leg.
Forward Gabriejl Rukavina will also be back in the mix after missing the first leg because of a red in Bulgaria and also overcoming an injury problem.
The Croatian side played their first league match of the year before the first leg with Shelbourne, claiming a 2-0 win, and followed it up with a scoreless draw last Sunday.
But their defeat to Shels certainly caused shockwaves for the Croatian champions having been so close to winning their Champions League second round tie.
Back at home O'Brien has made an impressive start to taking over from Damien Duff.
The former assistant has only tasted defeat twice in 11 matches, which both came to formidable Azerbaijani side Qarabag.
Milan Mbeng has made an immediate impact after joining from Cork City with his pace down the right-side a major asset, as demonstrated in the first leg.
Mbeng will be fit for the game, according to O'Brien, despite an injury concern and a wry smile when asked about it by reporters at yesterday's pre-match press conference.
Sean Boyd was forced off with injury in Rijeka but the introduction of John Martin did no harm for the Premier Division side attacking on the break.
Martin followed up his goal in Croatia with an equaliser in a bruising game with Bohemians last Saturday.
With Boyd failing to recover from injury, Martin will likely support Mipo Odubeko in attack. Sean Gannon is also ruled out along with Tyreke Wilson who could return in a couple of weeks.
Sean Moore has been making short appearances from the bench and may be utilised if the Reds find themselves in need of a goal.
The league fixture with Bohs was a lot more energy-sapping than O'Brien would have wanted, even if they had made eight changes.
The Reds boss claimed he named such a different selection to freshen his team rather than rest players.
It can often by debated how to approach a second leg tie when leading, having started off as a huge underdog, and a key factor for Shels will be not to concede early as they did against Qarabag.
The natural inclination would be the focus should be on stopping Riejka first off, given their talents going forward.
O'Brien denied that logic speaking yesterday, yet it must be the basis of their performance.
He spoke of the dangers of the returning Fruk in the Rijeka attack: "He plays as a centre-forward or a number 10. He's a really good player from the videos we saw of the Ludogorets game. He was probably one of the best players on the pitch.
"He brings added quality at the top of the pitch; one of those players who can be out of the game for a period of time but have the quality to make something themselves.
"That is the level you're playing at. Sometimes you can prepare all you want and have a structure to play out of possession but some players only need the ball, one or two movements and bang. He has that ability."
Goalkeeper Wessel Speel has been another good addition with his error in giving away the penalty cancelled out by appearing very competent at the level in his performances so far.
There is no escaping the enormity of the financial aspect for Shels as they seek to grow the club on and off the field.
The club has been losing €1m a year since their return to the Premier Division. CEO Tomas Quinn has openly admitted that must change as they seek a more sustainable path.
Investors have been propping up the project and redeveloping Tolka Park will also have outlays in the future, even if it is to be supported by local and national authorities.
This will be Shels' only chance at the champions route of European football for the foreseeable future with Shamrock Rovers set to regain their crown in the Premier Division.
Indeed the Drumcondra outfit face a battle to even qualify for Europe as they sit three points off third place in the table and this Sunday must tackle a difficult FAI Cup clash away to St Patrick's Athletic before whichever play-off clash they face.
Over 20 years on from their famous victory against Dinamo Zagreb, a match which gave Shels the chance at the unthinkable of an Irish team qualifying for the Champions League, the Reds have finally made it back to this stage.
Football has moved on to a more diluted format in European competition. While tonight's fixture is not about the top tier, it offers Shels the chance they have waited for while having spent so long recovering from their last tilt at reaching the the group stage summit.