Europa League 3rd qualifying round, 1st leg: Rijeka (Croatia) v Shelbourne, Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, 7.45pm – Live on Solid Sport (streaming)
From Belfast to Baku and now the picturesque Croatian port town of Rijeka, these past six weeks have been a whirlwind experience for Shelbourne and Joey O’Brien.
At least the new manager has got a firm handle on his media duties.
“This is going to be a monster game,” said O’Brien before the League of Ireland champions face a side that, on paper, is 10 times more valuable than his evolving squad.
“A monster task,” he repeated before the Shelbourne players trained on Tuesday night in 27-degree heat. “[Rijeka] were unlucky not to beat Ludogorets [last week], having two men sent off. I thought they were the better team. They were unlucky. They are a serious side, but we’ll set up to win the game, like we always do.”
RM Block
Ludogorets, Bulgaria’s European specialists, needed extra-time last Wednesday to eliminate a rusty Rijeka from the Champions League.
That defeat happened three days before Radomir Djalovic’s men opened their defence of the Croatian title against Slaven Belupo, winning 2-0.
Shels also beat Sligo Rovers 2-0 at the Showgrounds on Saturday as new signings Seán Moore and Milan Mbeng made their debuts.
The high drama that put Ludogorets into a Champions League showdown against Hungary’s Ferencvaros, managed by Robbie Keane, came at a cost to Rijeka as they drop into the Europa League without suspended pair Toni Fruk and Gabriel Rukavina.
O’Brien might recall his recently hamstrung goalkeeper Conor Kearns instead of new Dutch signing Wessel Speel.
“Goalkeepers don’t really need to run that quick, so he is not too bad,” he said.
Shels were close to full strength against Sligo, as they remain three points off a European spot for next season with 10 matches to play.
Turns out, O’Brien knows what he is doing, having revived the club’s on-pitch displays since Damien Duff resigned on June 22nd.
Besides the concession of two gut-punch, late goals to Azerbaijan’s Qarabag in a 3-0 Champions League loss at Tolka Park on July 23rd, followed by a respectable 1-0 defeat in Baku, Shels are unbeaten under O’Brien in the other seven games.
If they somehow find a way past Rijeka, with the second leg at Tolka next Tuesday, the winner from Greek side PAOK and Wolfsberger of Austria await in the Europa League playoff. The winners of the playoff reach the group stage.
The likelier scenario is a return to Windsor Park against Linfield as David Healy’s NIFL Premiership champions are expected to set up a Uefa Conference League playoff against Shels by beating Vikingur from the Faroe Islands.
The winner of the playoff is guaranteed €4 million in Uefa prize money.
O’Brien would not be drawn on the potential for the club’s ownership to recoup three years of investment, after accumulating seven-figure losses since the Duff project was launched in 2022.
Talking about the task at hand, he said: “I said it to the lads, ‘I hate Plan Bs’. We are not thinking about Plan B. This is what it is about for us: tomorrow’s game. You start thinking about Plan B, you take your eye off the ball and you play safe.
“No. This is the game we want to attack. This is the tie we want to win.”
A notably professional performance against Qarabag last week, despite the second-leg being effectively a dead rubber, indicates that O’Brien’s instructions are being executed on the pitch.
That was the crux of Duff’s frustrations in the days leading up to his resignation. The former manager had started to question the commitment of some in the Shelbourne dressingroom.
The players, to a man, appear more switched on since. The test of European football against superior opposition appears to have turned Shelbourne’s season around.
Mipo Odubeko could add more than his eight goals in 20 appearances as the season enters the home straight. The arrival of current Ireland under-21s, Moore from West Ham and Jack Henry-Francis from Arsenal, potentially brings the quality needed to thrive in the Conference League group stages.
In the meantime, Kerr McInroy and Evan Caffrey must continue their inspirational seasons in red.
“Irish teams, our record in Europe away from home against stronger teams and stronger countries over the years is not very good,” O’Brien added. “It is going to be a monster task. But it is a task we want and we are going to embrace. We are going to put our best foot forward and try and get a result.”
