Troy Parrott was kept out but AZ Alkmaar still had the requisite class to condemn plucky Shelbourne to another regrettable defeat in the Conference League.
AZ dominated but Shels did much for coach Joey O'Brien to be proud of and they, again, will wonder what if. Their big chance came midway through the second half, John Martin was unable to capitalise – and there was further agony as AZ scored shortly afterwards.
That opener – on 70 minutes from Peer Koopmeiners – had the Reds reeling and it was no shock that substitute Isak Steiner Jensen rendered the points safe for the Dutch side with three minutes to go, giving AZ a chance of making the knockout matches.
Somehow, Shels have one point and no goals after four matches in the league stage, despite looking far from out of their depth; at least O'Brien can learn from 2025 into next term, when Shels will be back playing European football.
It felt much colder than the prevailing temperature due to a fierce November breeze in the Netherlands – and TV punters at home could feast on the anomaly of Irish underdogs taking on a team that has helped Troy Parrott get his own career back to something like where he would want it to be.
Parrott, beyond heroic in recent wins over Portugal and Hungary for Ireland, was peripheral in the first half: he got in behind once but was offside, while a well-worked free-kick, Sven Mijnans at its heart, at the end of the 45 saw him drag a shot wide.
AZ were hammered 5-1 recently by PSV Eindhoven but that result seemed less embarrassing after PSV trounced Liverpool in Anfield on Wednesday night. Shels had effectively blown their chance of progressing to the next stage by picking up only one point from their first three matches but they have been unlucky and it was no surprise they looked relatively comfortable in the Netherlands.
Paddy Barrett, who returned to a stadium where he was an unused substitute for Dundalk in 2016 in a 1-1 Europa League draw, showed his class and experience in the first half, memorably rushing out to block Mijnans at the edge of the box on 38 minutes.
On 11 minutes, Shels were growing into the fight but JJ Lunney coughed up possession and then committed prematurely, with Alkmaar having runners on the Reds but debutant Wassim Bouziane was unable to take advantage. Shortly afterwards, it was Jack Henry Francis who lost the ball; this time Bouziane saw his shot blocked.
Henry Francis went into the notebook for being late on Dave Kwakman on 15 minutes – far from ideal for the Reds. Then Mijnans stole in behind but, after his dangerous cross, Barrett made a splendid intervention.
Mipo Odobeku showed his threat on 33 minutes – the first time Shels looked dangerous – but he fouled his opponent; still, it was promising for the Reds, who pressed especially well.
One would have fancied Parrott to put away the chance created on 58 minutes. Again, Mijnans was the architect, dinking a lovely ball in for the Dubliner, but Mijnans' compatriot Wessel Speel made himself as big as he could and he batted away Parrott's strike.
On the hour, Parrott played a one-two with Weslley Patati, whose effort was tame.
Shelbourne have shown immense promise throughout this long European campaign but have failed to realise that in terms of goals or points and midway through the half illustrated how one can be so near and yet so far. Odobeku had space down the left and did everything brilliantly, showing his blistering pace and squaring to John Martin.
The substitute, who has taken to European combat like a natural, made a mess of his first touch and failed to make the most of the sort of chance Shels really needed to turn into gold, tangling with the ball. Ultimately, Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro, the AZ keeper, was able to smother his shot.
Perhaps it was no surprise that AZ scored in the next attack. Their set-pieces were a glowing feature of the occasion and the corner taker, De Wit, was able to steal in at the back post to head home from a perfect pass from defender Alexandre Penetra to set him up.
We live in extraordinary times in football's evolution – it has gone backwards to go forward, in terms of corners being very much in vogue again. This was a superb exhibition.
Speel made a save he knew little about on 86 minutes when his head denied Parrott a certain goal at the back post, keeping Shels' slim hopes realistic and the kid from Dubliner's inner city out. There was no hope left within a minute, as Jensen's stinging drive, which curled beautifully into the corner from about 25 yards, had Speel reeling.
AZ Alkmaar: Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro; Elijah Dijkstra (Mateo Chavez 65), Wouter Goes, Alexandre Penetra, Mees De Wit; Peer Koopmeiners, Sven Mijnans, Dave Kwakman (Kees Smit 46); Weslley Patati (Matej Sin 77), Troy Parrott, Wassim Bouziane (Isak Jensen 65)
Shelbourne: Wessel Speel; Milan Mbeng (Sean Gannon 77), Paddy Barrett, Mark Coyle, Kameron Ledwidge, Daniel Kelly; JJ Lunney (Evan Caffrey 61), Kerr McInroy, Jack Henry Francis (Ellis Chapman 77); Harry Wood (John Martin 61); Mipo Odobeku (Sean Boyd 84)
Referee: Michal Ocenas
