Shels battle to secure a draw and a point against Hacken
POINT SECURED: Shels John Martin in action against Hacken's Marius Lode, left. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
A deluge of rain rather than goals but Shelbourne are off the mark in the Conference League campaign, accruing a bigger prize over 90 minutes than for last year’s title victory.
Holding Swedish Cup holders BK Hacken scoreless in their first-ever league phase outing was well deserved and banks the club €133,000 for the point, expanding their overall earnings to the €4m mark from this year’s crusade.
It ought to have an extra €400,000 for a win.
Joey O’Brien will rue his side not reflecting their supremacy with at least one goal.
Mipo Odubeko had strayed fractionally offside when slotting the ball home in the 14th minute and, right at the death, they were screaming at Polish referee Paweł Raczkowski for failing to award a penalty when Liverpool loanee Jordan Norris was sent sprawling in the box.
Numerous other openings fell their way.
On the half hour, Kerr McInroy’s press sprung the visitors and after swapping passes with fellow Scot Ali Coote, he only had Etrit Berisha to beat. His shot, albeit carrying swerve, was gathered by the stopper.
Harry Wood’s winner sealed the league title in Derry last November and his influence has continued through this campaign from the qualifying stage.
On the stroke of half-time, a gap appeared for him to unleash a shot but a slight deflection veered it off-target.
BK Hacken will also hold regrets on their return home. Silas Anderson whistled a shot wide midway through the first half before a couple of crosses by the livewire interval substitute Danilo Al-Saed weren’t capitalised on.
A solid start so, along the trail that will see FA Cup winners Crystal Palace on December 11.
Already there’s new memories for adding to a trove of mixed ones.
Irish football’s sliding doors moments include a plethora of near-misses in the noughties. Drogheda United coming within a touch of dumping Dynamo Kyiv in 2008 ranks up there in the catalogue of what-if laments but Shelbourne were the first, four years, earlier to flirt the possibility of smashing the glass ceiling of joining the European elite.
A draw at home to Deportivo La Coruña had the Shels faithful daring to believe but even with the mercurial Wes Hoolahan directing traffic on the return, they bowed out at the Riazor.
If that constituted boom times, the bust was to soon unravel in tandem with the Irish economy. Two seasons later, their title-winning triumph was overshadowed by issues with player wage, leading to demotion in 2007.
What followed was a decade of hardship, operating on shoestring budgets as the men’s team yo-yoed between the Premier and First Divisions.
There was the odd slice of respite, such as reaching the 2011 FAI Cup final against Sligo Rovers, but everything had a fleeting risk to it.
Those stalwarts who kept the club afloat were presented with breathing space in 2018 when Andrew Doyle completed a takeover. Others lodged their interest, including Southampton’s owners who didn’t proceed and Hull City’s who did, but in the the current custodians of media mogul Mickey O’Rourke, and the Doyle brothers, Cathal and Neil, the Reds have resurrected.
Damien Duff was at the hub of the revival. Over three full seasons, he reached an FAI Cup final, returned the club to Europe and most tellingly, delivered a Premier Division title for the first time in 18 years. A buoyant women’s section and academy are other dividends from their legwork.
There’s been a seamless transition since assistant O’Brien stepped in once Duff stunned those inside and outside the club by quitting in June. They’ll officially relinquish their title to Shamrock Rovers this month but are still in with a shout of securing European football for a third successive season.
Having something to show from the second one is worth cherishing.
: W Speel; S Gannon (M Coyle 65), P Barrett, K Ledwidge (E Caffrey 46), J Norris; M Mbeng, K McInroy, JJ Lunney; A Coote (JH Francis 59), M Odubeko (D Kelly 75), H Wood (J Martin 75).
: E Berisha; H Hilvenius (D Al-Saed 46), M Lode, F Helander, A Lundkvist; S Gustafson, M Rygaard, S Andersen; J Lindberg, JP Dembe (I Brusberg 61), A Svanbäck.
: Paweł Raczkowski (POL).
: 5,675.
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