It was the tie that jumped off the page when the draw was made for Shelbourne's maiden UEFA Conference League campaign but in the end, the challenge of taking on an established Premier League opponent proved a bridge too far as Crystal Palace ran out 3-0 winners at Tallaght Stadium.
Shels manager Joey O’Brien had called on his side to focus on their own journey rather than the lofty reputations of the Eagles, but ultimately the fifth staging point in their league phase adventure was always likely to be a tall order, and so it proved as Oliver Glasner’s side, who sit fourth in the Premier League table, headed back to south London with all three points after a first-half flurry of goals from Christantus Uche, Eddie Nketiah and Yeremy Pino, mathematically ending the hosts' chances of reaching the play-off round in the process.
The teeming rain did not dampen the sense of anticipation that was palpable within a packed venue as Shelbourne fans looked to see how their side would fare against established English top-flight opposition.
A large travelling contingent of black-clad Palace fans took up every inch of the south stand, while an eagle eye could spot Shelbourne's former sheriff Damien Duff making his way through the throngs to take his perch in the west flank of the ground behind the dugout where O’Brien stood.
The current incumbent of the Reds' hotseat made three changes to the side that lost 2-0 at AZ two weeks ago, with John Martin, Evan Caffrey and Sean Boyd drafted in to the team in place of Daniel Kelly, JJ Lunney and Mipo Odubeko, the latter of whom missed out on the matchday squad altogether through illness.
Shels’ campaign to date had been characterised by near misses, with one point collected from the opening night travails at home to BK Hacken in what had been a similarly rain-sodden occasion at Tallaght, followed by gutsy defeats against Shkendija, Drita and AZ.
Meanwhile, the visiting Eagles had endured more of a mixed bag in Europe, with two wins and two defeats, in contrast to their impressive domestic form.
Much had been made of their small squad in the build-up, and as expected, Glasner included the core of his frontliners in the spine of the team, with captain Marc Guehi starting, England team-mate Adam Wharton at the heart of midfield and ex-Arsenal striker Nketiah among the forward line in their Austrian manager’s customary 3-4-2-1.
It was Palace who kicked off the action, playing directly towards the away end in the early stages and winning a succession of corners and throw ins that were catapulted straight into the mixer.
But just as Shels appeared to become comfortable as Palace’s passing momentarily became a tad more loose, the Premier League side suddenly demonstrated their class as they scythed devastatingly through the lines in a flash.
Guehi started the move from just inside his own half with a line-breaking pass into Japan international Daichi Kamada, who barely needed to glance over his shoulder before playing an inch-perfect first-time pass between Mark Coyle and Paddy Barrett.
Nketiah latched onto it down the left channel and squared the ball for Nigerian striker Christantus Uche, who drove his shot into the bottom corner of the net.
The Londoners were well on top now and had a penalty shout in the 20th minute when Nketiah ran onto a first-time pass from Wharton and took a tumble in the box under pressure from Milan Mbeng but the Slovenian referee deemed the Shelbourne right back's challenge to be fair – VAR confirming the call.
Four minutes later, Nketiah would double Palace's lead but it was self-inflicted from a Shelbourne point of view.
Caffrey’s cushioned header on the left flank was meant for Harry Wood. Instead it landed at the feet of Yeremy Pino, who ran at the Shels rearguard before releasing Uche with a pass.
The striker got a leg out to it before the onrushing Speel could close the space. The ball trundled towards goal but hit the foot of the post, leaving Nketiah the simple task of tapping in his second goal in this season’s Conference League.
Shels did have one flurry forward on the half-hour mark but Kerr McInroy’s shot from distance flew over one-time Argentina cap Walter Benitez’s goal.
Five minutes later, Palace came close to making it three after Chris Richards rose highest and saw his header hit the crossbar.
Seconds later though, the scoreboard would change to 3-0 and it was much too easy from a home side point of view as Pino got the ball 35 yards out, dropped a shoulder to glide past Kameron Ledwidge almost as if he wasn’t there and decisively picking his spot in the bottom corner of Speel's net.
Another swift counter-attack almost resulted in a fourth goal five minutes before the break but Pino could not keep his close-range header down.
The last act of the half saw Uche face up a nervy Shels defence before playing it out to acres of space to his left for Borna Sosa to rifle an angled drive that Speel had to parry.
With the visitors feeling comfortable, they made three changes with a trio of half-time changes including the uber-experienced Will Hughes as Wharton, Pino and Kamada were given a rest.
The traffic, which had been heavy outside the venue, continued to be one-way on the pitch as the lively Nketiah almost stole in for another goal but Speel, whose attempted clearance was charged down by sub Jefferson Lerma redeemed himself with the near-post save.
Shels did show their own ability to craft a chance of their own in the circumstances, ten minutes into the second half as McInroy flashed a dangerous cross which just evaded the sliding Boyd, although the offside flag did go up subsequently.
As the game flitted towards the 70-minute mark, Shelbourne had glimmers, particularly when Jack Henry-Francis got on the ball but a quality final ball was lacking.
Then Palace, who were coasting, thought they had fourth when Esse beat Speel with a shot. However, it struck one post and then the other without crossing the line, before Uche, who had set up the chance, blazing over moments later with the goal gaping.
Late on and with the game petering out and as the Palace fans chanted to the tune of 'Last Christmas', Boyd saw a tired shot float over.
There would be a better opportunity in stoppage time as – in shades of Ireland in Budapest - a flicked header from Boyd from a free kick got Daniel Kelly in behind but his effort was tipped over by Benitez.
That was the last act of the night and now for Shelbourne, they will be in Slovenia next Thursday in search of one last opportunity to grab a landmark result in this league phase when they face a NK Celje side that got the better of Shamrock Rovers in October.
Shelbourne: Wessel Speel; Milan Mbeng (Lewis Temple ‘81), Mark Coyle (c) (Sean Gannon ’75), Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge (Tyreke Wilson ‘59); Jack-Henry Francis, Kerr McInroy, Evan Caffrey; Harry Wood (Ellis Chapman ’81), Sean Boyd, John Martin (Daniel Kelly ‘59).
Crystal Palace: Walter Benitez; Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi (c); Justin Devenney (Ben Casey ‘82), Adam Wharton (Jefferson Lerma ‘45), Daichi Kamada (Will Hughes ‘45), Borna Sosa; Yeremy Pino (Romain Esse ‘45), Christantus Uche, Eddie Nketiah (Nathaniel Clyne ‘67).
Referee: Martin Matosa (Slovenia)
