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Irish Independent
13 minutes ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘Learn from the mistakes' – Joey O'Brien says there are beneficial lessons in Qarabag loss for Shels' challenges ahead
Euractiv Joey O'Brien believes the lessons from a tough night against Qarabag will be short term pain for long term gain as far as Shelbourne's European ambitions are concerned. O'Brien's side suffered a three goal defeat at Tolka Park which kills their hopes of progression in the Champions League but they have the significant fallback of a drop to the Europa League and the insurance of a Conference League playoff if the second tier is beyond them.
Irish Independent
13 minutes ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘Learn from the mistakes' – Joey O'Brien says there are valuable lessons in Qarabag loss for Shels' challenges ahead
Euractiv Joey O'Brien believes the lessons from a tough night against Qarabag will be short term pain for long term gain as far as Shelbourne's European ambitions are concerned. O'Brien's side suffered a three goal defeat at Tolka Park which kills their hopes of progression in the Champions League but they have the significant fallback of a drop to the Europa League and the insurance of a Conference League playoff if the second tier is beyond them.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘It ran away from us' admits Joey O'Brien as he reveals Shelbourne ‘worried about making mistakes' in loss to Qarabag
SHELBOURNE were left ruing how their finishing and ending let them down as this Champions League tie slipped away from them. Shels hit the woodwork before Qarabag took the lead and again when they were just 1-0 behind but the return leg was made a formality when the visitors 2 Shelbourne lost 3-0 to Qarabag Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 Joey O'Brien admitted he was disappointed with how his side finished the game Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Shels boss Joey O'Brien said: 'I'm disappointed how it ended. It sort of ran away from us. 3-0, I thought we were right in the second half but we just didn't get the equaliser. 'We saw the speed they were going to play at, we knew the heat was going to come, because they're used to playing at this level. Their touch, speed, passing, everything, is on point. 'In the first half, we probably gave too much respect. Respect on a football pitch is fear. I thought we were worried about making mistakes. 'We changed formation at half-time, went more on the front foot and had a cut, and created some chances. Read More on Shelbourne 'We went two up top to go two v two and I thought we had a bit of joy but, those half chances, at this level, you have to take them. 'I thought our fitness was showing but we didn't manage to get that goal and then left ourselves open which you can't do at this level. 'That second goal, it was the best player on the pitch, probably, who picked him out with the weight of the pass, and to pick up the run, but the last goal was a bad mistake by us.' Captain Paddy Barrett reckoned they might have erred by chasing an equaliser in the closing stages rather than ensuring they did not fall further behind. Most read in Sport He said: 'We spoke at half-time about us still being in the tie. The goal we conceded was gut-wrenching but we knew we'd quality players going forward. 'We upped the energy and we wanted to take it to them but we needed to stay in the game and not concede silly goals.' RTE pundit's one-liner about Damien Duff makes Joey O'Brien laugh after Shelbourne's win vs Linfield
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Shelbourne on the brink of Champions League exit after nightmare spell sees Joey O'Brien's men hammered by Qarabag
SHELBOURNE are heading out of the Champions League after Qarabag showed their class at Tolka Park. Joey O'Brien's side hit the woodwork in either half and were still in the game until they conceded twice in a calamitous four-minute spell near the end. 2 Shelbourne are all but out of the Champions League Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 They lost 3-0 to Qarabag at Tolka Park Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile The final score was harsh and Shels might wonder what might have been but, after a 3-0 defeat at home, there will not be much patience for chat about ifs, buts and maybes. And, although there is still a second leg to come in Baku, the club's money would be better spent on scouting You can talk about small margins at this level but, at times, they can turn out to be like a cracked windscreen, appearing small at first before quickly turning out to be beyond repair. So, while Shels could have taken the lead here, and goals do of course change games, the likelihood is that Qarabag would still have won such was the difference between the sides. Read More on Shelbourne There was a second half fightback, too, but it lacked the cutting edge which Qarabag showed when it was needed. Whilst the Shels side was drawn from Among their ranks was Frenchman Abdellah Zoubir, once signed on loan for striker Emmanuel Addai. And, in Matheus Silva, Dani Bolt, Kady and Pedo Bicalho, they had more Brazilians in their starting XI than a beauty clinic. Most read in Football It quickly became apparent that the visitors would seek to profit down the left-hand side where there were a couple of early scares for Shels.. Lorcan Healy was making only his seventh appearance for Shels since joining from UCD before the start of last season with Conor Kearns ruled out with a hamstring injury and new signing Wessel Speel on the bench. RTE pundit's one-liner about Damien Duff makes Joey O'Brien laugh after Shelbourne's win vs Linfield And he must have soon realised that he was going to be kept busier than in any of his previous outings,even if Shels could have taken the lead from a set-piece. Harry Wood's corner went deep to Coote who swung the ball back in. Tyreke Wilson's header was blocked and the ball came to Gannon but his effort hit the post and was then cleared off the line by Nariman Akhundzade. If that opportunity provided a small glimmer of hope it was quickly extinguished as the Azeris quickly reasserted their dominance with Akhundzade proving he had a lot more strings to his bow than just last-gasp defending. He got the better of Barrett down the left and fired across goal. Healy saved with Zoubir skying his follow-up effort over the bar. But the goal came in the 13th minute with Andrade both starting and finishing the move. First, he switched the ball from right to left where it was picked up by Zoubir. He waited until Bayramov made a run and then slipped through a perfectly-weighted pass inside Evan Caffrey which took him out of the game. Bayramov drilled the ball across goal where Silva had popped up to finish from point-blank range. BLOW AFTER BLOW There was a further blow soon after when WIlson was forced soon afterwards when he slipped as he was tackled which resulted in an innocuous-looking challenge leaving him unable to walk, leaving the ground in a wheelchair. James Norris came on in his place and he found himself on a mission where the main objective was not to find themselves further behind at the break. They managed it, just about, with Healy making two saves to deny Akhundzade as well as thwarting Bayramov. The closest Shels came to a chance to equalise was when Buntic spilled a Barrett flick-on but he gathered before Mipo Odubeko could capitalise. But the second half was a different affair. Wood was pushed further forward alongside Odubeko and the tactical adjustment came close to reaping dividends with the Englishman having two good chances. First, he was beaten to Kameron Ledwidge's drilled ball across goal and, then, could not quite connect with a wonderful whipped cross from Kerr McInroy. Coote, then, had an effort deflected behind for a corner. And, on 70 minutes, after Qarabag had failed to adequately clear a Wood free-kick, Barrett struck the bar with what looked like more of a cross than a shot. With Sean Boyd and John Martin thrown on, it was set up for a grandstand finish before disaster struck as Shels conceded twice in four minutes. First, Kady slipped the ball between Coyle and Barrett for Akhundzade to sprint onto. His chip over Healy hit the post but substitute Oleksiy Kaschchuk tapped home the rebound. Then, Ledwidge and Healy got their wires crossed with the defender's header sailing over the keeper with Akhundzade helping the ball over the line. SUN STAR MAN Nariman Akhundzade (Qarabag) SHELBOURNE : Healy 6; Gannon 5 (Coyle 46, 5), Barrett 6, Ledwidge 5; Caffrey 6 (O'Sullivan 66, 5), Lunney 6, McInroy 7, Wilson 6 (Norris 18, 6); Wood 6, Coote 7 (Martin 66, 5); Odubeko 7 (Boyd 77, 4). QARABAG : Buntic 6; Bolt 6 (Huseynov 77, 5 )Mustafazde 7, Silva 7, Bayramow 7; Bicalho 6, Kady 7; Andrade 8 (Kashchuk 77, 7), Addai 6, Zoubir 8 (Jafarguliyev 77, 5); Akhundzade 8 (Gurbani 81, 5). REFEREE : A Culina (Croatia) 7
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Gutsy Shelbourne unravelled by late Qarabag onslaught in first leg Champions League qualifier
Champions League second round qualifier, first leg: Shelbourne 0 Qarabag 3 (Leandro 12, Kashchuk 81, Akhundzada 85) No glory at a sizzling Tolka Park but plenty of guts from Shelbourne , until a calamitous finish settled this Champions League tie before the second-leg in Baku next Wednesday. 'Cheats, cheats, cheats' went around the old ground as Qarabag players took turns cramping up with 15 minutes remaining. They were not done running. The two goals in the final nine minutes, from Olexiy Kashchuk and Nariman Akhundzada, made a competitive contest look one-sided. Shelbourne did encounter an unfamiliar pace in this second-round qualifier but Joey O'Brien's men refused to be cowed by a Brazilian-heavy Qarabag side, even if the gulf in quality was undeniable. READ MORE The long journey to Baku next week will take its toll. No matter. It can be a stop-off on the road to the Uefa Europa League group stages, where the prize money would wipe out the Drumcondra club's past three years of seven-figure losses. The investment by the Shelbourne board was to build a competitive squad for European nights like this, and the recent signings of Jack Henry-Francis and Dutch goalkeeper Wessel Speel should make them stronger again. Lorcan Healy could lose his place to Speel next week after being at fault for the third goal. Shelbourne's Harry Wood in action against Qarabag's Matheus Silva. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA The perennial Azerbaijan champions looked untouchable at times, despite this being their first competitive game of the season, with four Brazil and three Azerbaijan internationals in Gurban Gurbanov's starting XI. Leandro-Andrade opened the scoring in the 12th minute but, remarkably, Sean Gannon had an early chance to put Shels in front. The veteran defender's scuffed shot hit the post after Harry Wood's corner pinballed around the box. Wood was his usual inspirational self, which suggests that the all-action English attacker will be lured back across the Irish Sea sooner rather than later. Shels were superb in patches, with Kerr McInroy stamping his authority in a midfield where Brazilians Kady Borges and Pedro Bicalho sought to control possession. In the end, Kady's delicate through-ball created Kashchuk's killer goal. Gurbanov's side are European specialists who expect to reach the group stages of the Europa League, and it showed early on when Abdellah Zoubir shot wide. Qarabag's Leandro Andrade celebrates his side's opening goal. Photograph:As the French winger looked to be having his way with Gannon and Evan Caffrey down the left, Leandro rocked Shels with a thrilling goal off the right. It came from a miscued pass by Wood. A throw-in deep in Qarabag territory hardly screamed danger until Leandro hared down the sideline before switching play to Zoubir, who rolled a pass for Turai Bayramov and rewarded Leandro's continued run into the box. Shelbourne opened amateur club Fairview Rangers in similar fashion during last Saturday's FAI Cup win in Limerick. To their credit, the Dubliners responded with a professional performance as Wood and McInroy were quietly inspirational while Mipo Odubeko showed for a heap of unwinnable ball. The depth of O'Brien's squad became evident when Tyreke Wilson was forced off following a heavy challenge by Dani Bolt. The injury looked serious but Shels turned to Liverpool-loanee James Norris as they finished the first-half strong. Clearly Croatian referee Ante Culina did not see Emmanuel Addai's ridiculous reaction to being dispossessed by McInroy. Shels refused to stop play as the Ghanian forward rolled around on the grass, seemingly in agony, until Culina blew his whistle. Wood, Ali Coote and Paddy Barrett all made attempts at spectacular equalisers as Qarabag's lack of fitness began to show. Turns out they had more in them than anyone inside Tolka expected. The late strikes from Kashchuk and Akhundzada were unfair on Shels but a true reflection of the standard on show. SHELBOURNE: Healy; Gannon (Coyle 46), Barrett, Ledwidge, Wilson (Norris 17); Lunney, McInroy; Caffrey (O'Sullivan 66), Wood, Coote (Martin 66); Odubeko (Boyd 77). QARABAG: Buntic; Dani Bolt, Mustafazada, Silva, Bayramov; Bicalho, Addai, Kady; Leandro (Kashchuk 77), Akhundzada, Zoubir (Huseynov 77). Referee: Mario Zebec (Croatia).
