Fenlon hopes players justify switch

Shelbourne face Spanish giants Deportivo La Coruna tomorrow evening determined to give a good account of themselves and give last season’s Champions League semi-finalists a torrid time at Lansdowne Road.

The eircom League champions switched the game from their 9,000 capacity Tolka Park home to Lansdowne Road to cater for the huge interest in the match.

And their decision has been justified by the public’s response with all 24,000 tickets snapped up in a matter of days.

Shelbourne still hope to make more tickets available should UEFA allow them to also sell terrace tickets, though chairman Finbar Flood conceded time is running out for them to be granted that wish.

And while the club have been making hay off the pitch, manager Pat Fenlon is determined to ensure that the on the pitch matters are equally satisfying for Shelbourne.

Fearing Deportivo’s speed and wingers, Fenlon has narrowed the pitch to the minimum width, 64 metres – the same width as the Tolka Park for the match.

However, he insisted that keeping the Spaniards in check was only the minimum of their aims.

He said: “We’re thinking of it as an away game.

“We know it’s our home game and we will have tremendous support but it’s a venue we’re not used to and we will be going out to keep it tight and make it difficult for them.

“But with the players we have, we are confident that we can also score against them.

“Like every team, we’ve watched the videos and have identified some areas in which we can take advantage of their weaknesses.”

With no injury worries, Fenlon is likely to keep an unchanged side for the game, meaning Ireland striker Jason Byrne will again be asked to play on the right side of midfield while Cameroon World Cup star Joseph Ndo is likely to start on the bench.

Fenlon added: “Joseph is flying in training but he hasn’t played a full game in a while and I think he would be better coming off the bench when the game slows down.

“The team we’ll start with will be similar to what we’ve used over the last few weeks.”