Shelbourne v Rijeka – Drama in Tolka as Croatians strike late to march on

Irish Independent

12-08-2025

Live |
Shelbourne take on Croatian side HNK Rijeka in their Europa League third qualifying round second leg tie at Tolka Park this evening.
Leading 2-1 from last week's first leg, the League of Ireland Premier Division champions are just a draw away from an estimated €3.4million in Uefa prizemoney and further riches with a guaranteed place in the league phase of the Conference League.
Catch all the action as it happens here.
90'+6
Free Kick
Shelbourne
Shooter
Harry Wood
John Martin wins a freekick just beyond halfway. Wessel Speel is joining the attack. This is last chance saloon stuff.
90'+4
Substitution
Rijeka
Substituted out
Luka Melano
Substituted in
Merveil Ndockyt
A change in midfield for the Croatian champions sees Melano, who featured off the bench in the first-leg, come on for the final few minutes.
There will probably be an extra minute added on for some gamesmanship from the visitors.
90'+2
Substitution
Shelbourne
Substituted out
Kerr McInroy
Substituted in
Daniel Kelly
A final roll of the dice sees Daniel Kelly replace the weary Kerr McInroy. Rijeka have tried to kill the clock with some bodies down with cramp.
90'
Goal
Rijeka
Scorer
Ante Orec
Assist
Niko Jankovic
GOAL! Tolka Park is stunned into silence. It's heartbreaking for Joey O'Brien's side. Merveil Ndockyt's free-kick falls to Niko Jankovic. He squeezed it back to Ante Orec who drills it into the far corner of Wessel Speel's goal. That could be the winner.
We will have 5 minutes of injury time to play!
88'
Scoring Chance
Shelbourne
Player
Milan Mbeng
SAVE! Suddenly, it's Shels on the front foot as Mipo Odubeko wins the ball back. A cross into the crowded penalty box falls to Milan Mbeng. The French full-back is caught off guard but manages to get his shot on target - straight into Zlomislic's gloves!
86'
Goal
Shelbourne
Scorer
Mipo Odubeko
GOAL! We are heading for extra-time as it stands! It was anything but convincing from Mipo Odubeko in truth. He goes low to his right with just enough power to see the ball squeeze under Martin Zlomislic's grasp.
86'
Penalty
Shelbourne
Shooter
Mipo Odubeko
PENALTY! The Romanian arbiter takes his sweet time to come to the decision... and he points to the spot. Tolka Park erutps. Mipo Odubeko has the ball under his arm.
83'
VAR
HUGE PENALTY APPEAL - a third of this game for Shels! Harry Wood's cross from the right towards John Martin is perfect. Ante Orec gets the wrong side of the Kilkenny native and looks to have clearly pulled his jersey.
VAR is reviewing the footage this time and the Romanian ref is going to his monitor!
79'
Substitution
Shelbourne
Substituted out
James Norris
Substituted in
Evan Caffrey
The introduction of Evan Caffrey is part of a double switch with Ellis Chapman taking over from JJ Lunney to breathe life into the Shels midfield.
76'
Substitution
Rijeka
Substituted out
Ante Juric
Substituted in
Justas Lasickas
This change tells you all you need to know about Rijeka's intentions. Full-back Justas Lasikas replaces the Croatian champions' striker on the night Juric. Time to shut up shop it seems!
74'
Scoring Chance
Shelbourne
Player
Paddy Barrett
Decent chance for Shels a minute after conceding their second goal of the night - Paddy Barrett connects beautifully, but Rijeka goalkeeper Zlomislic watches it sail over his crossbar.
73'
Goal
Rijeka
Scorer
Tiago Dantas
Assist
Mladen Devetak
GOAL! Shels are behind on aggregate now. It's another absolute world class strike from Tiago Dantas, but it's all too easy from a Shels perspective.
Full-back Mladen Devetak just passes it inside to the former Bayern Munich academy talent. He looks up with space in front of him, and rifles it into the top-right corner from all of 30 yards. A thunderbolt!
71'
Corner
Shelbourne
Shels get their second corner of the game which is taken by Kerr McInroy, but it yields nothing in an attacking sense. Kameron Ledwidge gives away possession needlessly thereafter.
69'
Scoring Chance
Rijeka
Player
Toni Fruk
The Shels fans are left incensed by a supposed foul on John Martin by Tiago Dantas. Rijeka attack through Toni Fruk who curls wide from the edge of the box.
It's fair to say the Romanian arbiter has let the game flow this evening. No bookings to speak of yet and he's hardly used his whistle!
68'
Success for Robbie Keane's Ferencvaros as Aidan Fitzmaurice updates us on the final score:
Full-time in Budapest and Robbie Keane's Ferencvaros win 3-0 against Ludogorets and enter the playoff round of the Champions League. If their schedules allow - and they both have a big weekend ahead - Keane might put in a call to his former Ireland teammate Joey O'Brien for an insight on Ferencvaros's next opponents, Qarabag, as they knocked O'Brien's Shels out of the Champions League in the last round.
65'
Scoring Chance
Rijeka
Player
Niko Jankovic
SAVE! That was well held by Wessel Speel. Rijeka strike on the counterattack as Niko Jankovic's effort takes a nasty deflection off Paddy Barrett. The 23-year-old reacted brilliantly to keep it out.
61'
Corner
Shelbourne
More protestations for a penalty from Shels as John Martin goes down in the box under pressure from Stjepan Radeljic. VAR doesn't intervene, so it stays as a corner.
58'
Corner
Rijeka
After a strong spell in possession, Rijeka earn themselves a corner which eventually falls to Dejan Petrovic. The 27-year-old Slovenian swings a right boot at it, but sends it high into the Dublin night sky.