Shelbourne in pole position after shocking Rijeka in Croatia

John Martin's winner ensured Shels came from a goal down to secure the win in Croatia.

SHELS SHOCK RIJEKA: Shelbourne's John Martin celebrates scoring his side's second goal. Pic: ©INPHO/Aleksandar Djorovic.

EUROPA LEAGUE THIRD ROUND, FIRST LEG

RIJEKA 1 (Niko Janković pen 56)

SHELBOURNE 2 (Sam Bone 58, John Martin 70)

Away wins in the Europa League are a rarity for Irish teams but this comeback victory puts Shelbourne within sight of the lucrative league phase worth €3.8m.

It’s only the midway point of the tie against a classy Rijeka side but instead of having to beat either Linfield or Vikingur Gøta in a playoff for a berth in the Conference League, avoiding defeat at home next Tuesday before a sold-out Tolka Park would guarantee that spot.

They’d also have something of a free hit against either Greek side PAOK or Austrian outfit Wolsfberger to reach the higher Europa equivalent.

Shels boss Joey O’Brien highlighted the league’s poor record on foreign soil but a dramatic turnaround trumped that to glisten the club’s return to Europe following an 18-year drought.

Shamrock Rovers were the last team to win a Europa League fixture away from home and that two-leg victory over the Macedonian side KF Shkupi secured their passage to the next stage of the Conference.

It changed from the group to league phase last year and once Shels hold the visitors in the return they’ll have six more games in the Autumn to relish within the 36-team format.

Things looked ominous for the League of Ireland champions when the Croatians struck first in a tight contest by Niko Janković converting a penalty but all that breakthrough in the 56th minute did was instigate a swift revival for the Reds.

HNK Rijeka's Niko Jankovic scores his sides first goal from a penalty. Pic: ©INPHO/Aleksandar Djorovic.

Defender Sam Bone equalised within two minutes by nodding in a rehearsed corner and another header, this time a bullet version by Waterford native John Martin, made it 2-1 with 20 minutes left.

Bone was again in the thick of it in stoppage time but at the other end when a shot struck his arm. Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos consulted with VAR but blew for full-time instead of for a penalty, much to the relief of the Shels contingent.

This latest milestone sustains the momentum O’Brien has overseen since his boss Damien Duff abruptly quit in June.

Together they led the Reds to their first top-flight title since 2006 and despite Duff hitting the wall the club opted for his assistant to maintain continuity.

Much of the magic that engineered their revival of the Duff era has been evident since, with this latest performance a manifestation of a clear gameplan.

While O’Brien wasn’t playing mind games by talking up the Rijeka threat beforehand – they are double holders after all – the sternness to their organisation prevented the hosts rousing their home crowd in a cagey first half.

The Shels boss stuck with new signing Wessel Speel and the Dutchman was coolness personified between the sticks, producing the first in a series of saves from Amer Gojak.

They still looked comfortable and their most testing incident was losing striker Seán Boyd to injury, albeit his replacement Martin would be a revelation.

His cameo only arrived a Speel lapse that gifted regular group phase participants the opener 11 minutes into the second half.

Perhaps he felt the time at his disposal was akin to the American league he last played in because his dallying allowed Merveil Ndockyt to nip to dispossess him.

Then came the immediate foul that allowed Janković to send him the wrong way from the spot.

Unlike last week’s similar situation away to Qarabag, this was the first leg and the signs existed for Shels to capitalise.

Kerr McInroy led the response, unleashing a shot within seconds of the restart that deflected out for a corner.

Training ground preparation was apparent as McInroy found James Norris dashing at the back post. When the unmarked Liverpool loanee sent his header across the six-yard box, Bone was there to provide the final touch.

VAR didn’t spot an infringement and Rijeka failed to spot the danger of Martin.

Shortly after arrowing a fierce drive marginally wide of the upright, he prowled into the box to connect with Harry Wood’s right-wing cross with a powerful header into the top corner.

It sent the visiting allocation behind that goal into delirium and the Shels heroes into a second leg they’re capable of killing the tie off in to prolong their travels.

SHELBOURNE: W Speel; M Mbeng (S Gannon 90), P Barrett, S Bone, K Ledwidge; H Wood (E Chapman 76), K McInroy (M Coyle 87), JJ Lunney, J Norris; M Odubeko (D Kelly 46), S Boyd (J Martin 18).

Referee: Ricardo de Burgos (SPN).