Slick Shelbourne masters of the Glens

Glentoran 1 Shelbourne 2

Until the last 15 minutes, it was a game in which Shels had been wholly dominant, and but for an outstanding display by Glens keeper Elliott Morris, Pat Fenlon's men could have been home and dry before the break.

Instead, two early second-half goals seemed to have secured a comfortable victory for the visitors, until a surprise 77th minute strike for Glentoran set up a nail-biting finish and one that at least keeps the tie alive for the second leg.

"We would have settled for 2-1 before the start of the game," said satisfied Shelbourne boss Fenlon.

Glentoran boss Roy Coyle was also accentuating the positive: "The goal we scored makes all the difference. At two-nil it would have been virtually impossible to come back. These guys don't know how to give in, so it's game on next Wednesday."

Shels favoured the more controlled build-up but Glentoran's preference for the high ball ensured that Colin Hawkins and Dave Rogers needed to stay alert at the heart of the visitors' defence.

Hawkins also required the assistance of Greek referee Kaznaferis when Jody Tolan got in behind him in the 11th minute but the number eight was ruled to have pulled back the Shels defender.

Shels gradually imposed their superiority and in a four-minute spell coming up to the half-hour mark, Glentoran keeper Elliott Morris was forced to make three top-class saves.

First, Stuart Byrne's powerful shot from close range was well-blocked, then he produced a one-handed save to deny Wes Hoolahan from farther out.

The dropping ball fell to Jason Byrne who, back to goal, would have struggled to see his acrobatic effort deflected away for another corner.

A moment later, Hoolahan went even closer, brilliantly making space for himself outside the box before bending a left-footed shot that was heading inside the post until Morris, at full stretch, turned it to safety.

And then, right on 30 minutes, Hawkins initiated one of Shels' best moves of the half, breaking from the back, finding Crowe and, after a dummy by Jason Byrne, receiving the striker's return pass inside the box before a last-ditch block by Paul Leeman averted the danger.

With Dave Rogers outstanding at the back for the eircom League champions, Glentoran had little to show for their efforts coming up to the break but the last incident of the half threatened to disrupt Shels' momentum, as Alan Moore came on for David Crawley, who suffered a hairline fracture of the left ankle which is almost certain to keep him out of the second leg.

Instead, from the restart the visitors simply took up where had they left off. Ollie Cahill did well on the left, and passed inside to Crowe who found Moore running into the box, but the substitute's angled shot was again well-saved by Morris.

Then, on 54 minutes, the keeper made another outstanding save to deny a Richie Baker header, and was relieved to see Glen Crowe put the rebound wide at point-blank range.

But the former Bohs man made amends almost immediately, robbing Glens captain Paul Leeman on the left flank and haring into the box, before passing across the face of the goal to strike partner Jason Byrne who made no mistake from six yards out.

A second Shels goal wasn't too far behind. In the 64th minute, with the pre-season part-timers already visibly tiring, Glen Crowe outpaced the luckless Leeman to get onto Jason Byrne's header.

The Glentoran captain's challenge inside the box was clumsy enough for the referee to point to the spot, and Byrne stepped up to smash home the penalty.

Roy Coyle responded with a double substitution, Michael Halliday and Chris Morgan replacing Jody Tolan and Stephen Parkhouse, but there still seemed to be no threat to the visitors' dominance until, in the 77th minute, Sean Ward capitalised on Shels' failure to clear their lines, and drove a fine shot to the corner of the net from the edge of the box.

Now, far from wilting, Glentoran were like a side reborn, and it was Shelbourne's turn to wobble, as Richie Baker was forced to clear another shot by Ward off the line.

With Glen Crowe and Jason Byrne both substituted, Shels were forced on the defensive, and it required a superb fingertip save over the top by Dean Delaney to prevent Colin Nixon's header from levelling the scores.

In a hectic finish, Glentoran's Morris made another claim on the Man of the Match award by defying Alan Moore from close range while, at the other end, Glentoran's Kevin Keegan failed to live up to his illustrious name when he opted to pass rather than shoot in a promising position at the edge of the box.

It was Glentoran's last chance to pull an unlikely draw out of the hat, leaving Shelbourne, with two away goals, firmly in the driving seat for the second leg at Tolka Park next Wednesday.

GLENTORAN: Morris, Nixon, Holmes, Walker, Leeman, Keegan, Ward, Tolan (Halliday 67) Parkhouse (Morgan 67), McCallion, Lockhart.

SHELBOURNE: Delaney, Heary, Crawley (Moore 45), Hawkins, Rogers, Hoolahan, Cahill, Byrne S, Byrne J (Crawford 77), Crowe (Fitzpatrick 75), Baker

Referee: G. Kaznaferis (Greece).