Shelbourne confident of creating history

SHELBOURNE are 90 minutes away from the most significant breakthrough made by any eircom league club and you could sense the anticipation in Tolka Park yesterday.

Ollie Byrne was beaming, Pat Fenlon was relaxed. Even among the players, there were no visible nerves.

Hajduk Split arrived in Dublin with a goal advantage, but Alan Moore's late strike in Croatia has sparked some optimism in the Shels camp.

The club have even rekindled its long-standing deal with RTÉ to broadcast the action from Tolka live this evening (7pm).

"We have made huge progress but this is another massive step forward," Fenlon said yesterday, before describing tonight's second leg as the biggest match of his long association with Shels.

The prize glitters in the mind of every Shelbourne supporter. A mouth-watering tie with Deportivo La Coruna. The sort of match that could allow the club to loosen purse-strings and dominate domestic soccer.

Chairman Byrne was in ebullient form, engaging in some good-natured finger-wagging with hacks who got the time of the fixture wrong before urging the city of Dublin to come out and support Shels.

"The live coverage is for the supporters of Cork City and Derry and Finn Harps and Dundalk who want to see this game. But there are 3,500 tickets definitely available and people should come out and create an atmosphere for this game."

Those who travel to Tolka might witness history. There was certainly that kind of mood in the air yesterday. Fenlon's confidence was bolstered by the late goal in Split and their opponents' riled comments after the game.

"We have the belief and that belief comes from the sort of players I have at my disposal. There are a lot of quality players in the club. We have the players capable of winning this game. I am not going to get into what was said and wasn't said after the match. If the game had finished 3-1, we wouldn't have heard too much. I think the late goal rattled them."

In the past, eircom league clubs have traditionally played better away from home. The example of both Bohs and Longford last week illustrates how some clubs can strain under the stress of expectancy in front of their home support. With a wealth of experience both as player and manager, Fenlon is well aware of the problem.

"I think it has been a problem for all our clubs. When we come back home, we have been a little gung-ho and went for the kill. If you look at games in Europe, they are usually cagey affairs.

"You can't be too gung-ho, especially in this competition because you are playing the champions of another league. That is why the first goal will be so important tonight.

"If we do go behind, we are still capable of winning the game. I believe that. But the players also need to be careful of their reaction if they go ahead. I think we will need two goals to win this game. They are a good side, but we have some quality in this side, too."

Quality like Moore, who has now scored in Shels' last two European ties, and Glen Fitzpatrick, the lone ranger up front in Split. Jason Byrne will partner him this evening while Wes Hoolahan is facing a late fitness test, but Fenlon was adamant the U21 international would only play if fully fit.

A few years ago, a distraught Dermot Keely stood in the Shels dressing-room following a Champions League defeat by Rosenberg and talked of the club trying to model themselves on the perennial Norwegian champions.

The Rosenberg model was again mentioned yesterday with the advent of summer soccer allowing eircom league clubs to follow more readily in its path.

"We are 17 games into the season and we have been a full-time club for three seasons. Those are big pluses. They are players with us who have been full-time their whole careers and you can see how they benefited. We set high standards for ourselves, but we might still be a fair bit off what Rosenberg have achieved."

Still, there is the possibility of history in Tolka this evening. Shels seem better-equipped than any eircom league club in the past of going into the third round. Especially with their ability to eke out goals in the final quarter.

"That is the sort of team we are," Fenlon says. "We can always find a goal. We have players here who are willing to battle, to never give up."