Paul O'Hehir at Lansdowne Road
Reflecting on a job well done, Shelbourne manager Pat Fenlon described last night's heroics as "probably our best ever achievement over 90 minutes" after seeing his side mix it and match it with La Liga giants Deportivo La Coruna at Lansdowne Road.
Swashbuckling Shelbourne dominated their Spanish opponents for long spells, restricting the visitors into playing a rushed game that left them clearly frustrated time and again.
Midfield general Stuart Byrne excelled in his holding role in front of the back four and comfortably won his battle with Spanish international Juan Carlos Valeron, singled out during the week by Fenlon as Deportivo's most lethal attacker. Sprightly Wes Hoolahan and captain Owen Heary were other notable warriors in red on the night.
"When you talk about the calibre we've played against this is probably our best achievement over 90 minutes," Fenlon enthused.
"I thought we actually played better against Hadjuk Split but the team we played there tonight are a very good side and we held them scoreless. Maybe we could have sneaked a goal to go away with but I'm still very, very pleased."
Fenlon knows that an away goal in the Riazor Stadium in a fortnight's time could be enough to propel the league champions into a money spinning adventure in the group stages but the manager is not losing sight of the enormity of the task ahead.
"We need to score over there and we've done that already in two away games (KR Reykjavik and Hadjuk Split) . It will be difficult though and we're under no illusions that we'll go there and have it easy. I think they'll step up another gear when we get there and that's something we have to be prepared for and we will be.
"To be honest though, I'm not worried about a fortnight's time, I'm just focusing on Cork City this weekend, but I'm still happy with the result."
A hard fought scrap with Hadjuk Split, both home and away, formed the platform from which tonight's performance was built. Fenlon paid due credit to his players for their achievements in the competition so far.
"The lads showed over the last few weeks what a good side they are, how professional they are and how serious they take their jobs. I'm very proud. We were playing against quality players of huge calibre. Most of them are internationals and it's a credit to my lads that we matched them in most departments."
Fenlon believes he saw enough frailties in Deportivo's make-up to trouble the Spaniards on their home turf. But having viewed enough video footage of them in recent days the manager confessed he was "sick of looking at them" and that he "had enough ammunition to work with" over the coming weeks.
"I think there are weaknesses that they have, every team has a weakness that you can exploit. But I'll take time and watch the video and digest everything. By doing that we can build on things and find areas where we can exploit and nick a goal away."
Fenlon's counterpart, Javier Irureta, was appreciative of Shelbourne's endeavours although he believes his side has what is needed to secure a comfortable victory at the Riazor. He said his team would fear nobody "not Manchester United, not Shelbourne."
"They played as we expected and were a difficult team to face," he said. "Shelbourne fought for every ball. I think we lost out to them physically in the early stages as they were very strong in the tackle. As the game progressed I thought the sides evened out and played very similar. But Shelbourne definitely made the game difficult as I think my team were maybe not as fit because of our lack of competitive games.
"Over the next 15 days I believe my team will improve physically and I think we have reasons to be optimistic playing a home. We will respect Shelbourne, of course, but I think we will be able to counter attack and win the game. Until the first goal is scored everything will be there to play for."
FAI chief executive Fran Rooney said: "Shelbourne did themselves and the eircomLeague proud tonight with their professional approach on and off the pitch."
He added: "For its part, the FAI will continue to support
eircomLeague clubs in their efforts to compete successfully in European competition."