Shelbourne missing key players

Shelbourne begin their UEFA Cup campaign at Lansdowne Road tonight by counting the cost of their Champions League qualifying odyssey (7pm).

The eircom League champions take on French side Lille in a first round first leg tie but will be without midfielders Alan Moore and Stuart Byrne due to bookings they each collected during the Champions League preliminary rounds.

The duo are serving one-match bans and manager Pat Fenlon will also be without yet another midfielder in Joey Ndo who failed to prove his fitness after injuring his ankle last week.

That will not stop Fenlon from packing his midfield once more in European competition with Wes Hoolahan and Ollie Cahill operating down the flanks either side of a central trio comprising Alan Cawley, Jim Crawford and Thomas Morgan.

That means Jason Byrne running the forward line alone, a role he would have been assigned whether new signing Juan Sara had been eligible to play or not.

The Argentinean striker isn’t and so Fenlon may well turn to Shels' Under-21s for substatution options.

Lille, currently 13th in French Ligue 1 after a slow start to their domestic season can call on two international players, Senegal keeper Tony Sylva and midfielder Jean Makoun of Cameroon.