On a historic night for the club, Shelbourne marked their UEFA Conference League debut with a battling point as they drew 0-0 with BK Hacken at Tallaght Stadium.
Joey O'Brien’s side gave as good as they got in the first half but held on to a valuable clean sheet in a second '45 that saw the Swedish visitors largely control proceedings.
It’s the first staging point in a six-game league phase for the Dublin club, who are just the third League of Ireland side to feature in a European competition proper after Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk.
Tallaght might not be home in the truest sense for Tolka Park-based side, but the sight of their mobile club shop perched out front was an early indication that they were marking their territory.
Their fans took up residence in the North stand, while a pocket of Hacken fans huddled in a corner of the opposite end which was otherwise completely empty.
Shelbourne made just two changes to the XI that started against Waterford last Friday with Sean Gannon coming into the team in place of the injured defender Sam Bone on the right of the back three and Mipo Odubeko replacing John Martin up front.
The match, starting under the teeming Tallaght rain, quickly settled into a pattern of Hacken trying to play through the thirds as their manager Jens Gustafsson had demanded, with Shels initially waiting to pounce and profit from turnovers.
Shelbourne's game plan almost paid off in the seventh minute when Harry Wood won possession just inside Hacken's half and set Shels on their way via the sprightly Ali Coote who ran at the away side’s defence and towards the North stand where the home faithful were congregated.
The Scot looked to feed Mipo Odubeko with a lay-off just inside the box, but ex-Rangers defender Filip Helander came to Hacken’s rescue, not one but twice, also frustrating Coote’s attempted follow up with another block, the latter of which drew penalty shouts from behind the goal but the referee saw no merit in the faint appeals.
While nominally lining out in a 5-2-2-1, Shels looked to force Hacken down the sides with Sean Gannon vocally motioning right wing-back Milan Mbeng to step into midfield out of possession to sit in a 4-3-3 shape.
O'Brien’s side appeared to gain confidence as the game ticked towards the quarter hour mark, getting on the ball themselves with more regularity and forcing the visitors back.
One foray down the right led to their first corner which caused chaos as the Swedish side struggled to get the ball out of their box.
It fell to Wood at the edge of the area and his deflected shot dithered into the path of Odubeko who made no mistake, finding the net. However, the 22-year-old striker was standing in an offside position and the goal was chalked off, but it underlined that Shels were increasingly feeling comfortable on this stage.
They attacked again on 17 minutes with Odubeko released into the channel by a Wood ball over the top before his shot from the edge of the box was blocked down by a combination of Marius Lode and Harry Hilvenius.
Hacken had been passengers for that spell but their Danish midfielder Mikkel Rygaard looked to snap them out of their stupor two minutes later with a strike from distance which forced Shels goalkeeper Wessel Speel into a save, palming the ball away to his left and away from danger.
Hacken ventured forwards again and fashioned an even better chance as club captain Simon Gustafson found too much space down the right side of Shelbourne's box and put in a cross that his Shels counterpart Paddy Barrett did well to divert away with Ugandan striker John Paul Dembe lurking behind him, waiting for a tap in.
After brief breaks in play as Speel and Odubeko sought treatment from the Shels physios, O’Brien’s side got back on the front foot as Kerr McInroy’s pressing forced Hacken into a turnover before the midfield playmaker received the ball back from Coote and lashed a shot from inside the area that highly experienced goalkeeper Etrit Berisha saved down low.
The rain began to pelt down as half-time loomed, not exactly conducive to the style of play that Hacken looked to impose, whereas Shels were more willing to mix it up.
As the shower eased up though, Shels played their own sparkling stuff and in stoppage time, Coote combined with James Norris before firing a shot that deflected off Helander and just wide of the post.
There was time for the resulting corner and it led to another Shels chance as the ball fell back towards the set-piece taker McInroy who blasted a shot that just vaulted the crossbar – not quite threatening any of the world records set by the magisterial Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis given how close it was to hitting the target.
O'Brien made one alteration by the time his side had come bounding out for a second half that started in much drier conditions, with Evan Caffrey on in place of Kameron Ledwidge, necessitating James Norris to move inside to left centre-back and the new man to go in at wing back.
Hacken had also made one half-time substitution and their new man in, Danilo Al-Saed, tried to make an early impact, running at the Shels right side but seeing his attempted cross ricochet out for a goal kick much to the mirth of the red-clad fans in the stand behind.
Another warning sign came on 48 minutes when Rygaard had his second sighter of the match after Shelbourne had coughed up the ball in a dangerous area but the strike from distance was straight at Speel much to the Dutch keeper’s relief.
The Swedes were establishing a foothold, pinning Shels back more often and leaving Odubeko much more isolated. What was missing was a final ball with those in red standing firm, Silas Andersen consequently trying to go more direct but only blazing over.
The heavens opened again on 53 minutes and that coincided with Shelbourne's first chance of the half as Coote found himself in the hole, played the ball out to the advancing Mbeng. The Frenchman’s low ball in was grasped by Berisha before Odubeko could pounce.
The striker would threaten four minutes later but almost by chance as Helander dallied on the ball and saw his clearance cannon off Odubeko but unfortunately away from the goal which Berisha had briefly deserted.
Just past the hour and Shels struggled to deal with a quick counter as Al-Saed, profiting from space left by Gannon who had been lured forward by Rygaard, put a low ball across but McInroy had raced out and made a crucial intervention.
Andersen had another shot from outside the box with 22 minutes to go after the lively Al-Saed had Shels back-pedaling again, but it was straight at Speel.
Al-Saed was again a menace as another cross was wasted, this time by fellow sub Isak Brusberg who turned the ball wide at the near post.
By this point, Shels’ forward forays were becoming far less frequent than in the first half although they did put together a good move on 76 minutes, shifting possession quickly to the left but Caffrey put too much on his cross with Mbeng unable to keep the ball in at the far post.
Otherwise, it was Hacken in control of the ball and territory as the game ticked into the last ten minutes but with Shels holding a solid defensive shape in front of Speel’s goal.
However, the hosts rallied as the game entered the four minutes of stoppage time, winning a corner that Hacken would get clear and James Norris booked as he chopped down Adrian Svanback to prevent Shels from being caught cold on the break.
The scoreless status would remain frozen in place however and O'Brien's team had the consolation of a point from their travails.
Next up for Shelbourne in their maiden European adventure will be a 23 October trip to North Macedonian outfit Shkendija, who lost 2-0 at La Liga side Rayo Vallecano tonight.
Shelbourne: Wessel Speel; Sean Gannon (Mark Coyle '64), Paddy Barrett (c), Kameron Ledwidge (Evan Caffrey '45), Milan Mbeng, James Norris; Kerr McInroy, JJ Lunney; Ali Coote (Jack Henry-Francis '58), Harry Wood (John Martin '74); Mipo Odubeko (Daniel Kelly '74).
BK Hacken: Etrit Berisha; Harry Hilvenius (Danilo Al-Saed '45), Marius Lode, Filip Helander, Adam Lundqvist; Simon Gustafson (c), Mikkel Rygaard (Pontus Dahbo '76), Silas Andersen; Julius Lindberg, John Paul Dembe (Isak Brusberg '60), Adrian Svanback.
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