Champions League second round qualifier, first leg: FT – Shelbourne 0 Qarabag 3
“No glory at a sizzling Tolka Park but plenty of guts from Shelbourne, until a calamitous finish settled this Champions League tie before the second-leg in Baku next Wednesday,” Gavin Cummiskey writes from Tolka Park.
“‘Cheats, cheats, cheats’ went around the old ground as Qarabag players took turns cramping up with 15 minutes remaining.
“They were not done running. The two goals in the final nine minutes, from Olexiy Kashchuk and Nariman Akhundzada, made a competitive contest look one-sided.”
Read Gavin’s match report in full below:
That’s all from me for tonight. Thanks for following along!
FT – SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 3
Shelbourne will have to shake off tonight’s disappointment quickly as next Wednesday they’re in Baku for the return leg of this second round qualifier.
It’s a cold comfort but Baku is supposed to be a lovely city.
FT – SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 3
Gavin Cummiskey’s report from Tolka Park will be with us shortly.
FT – SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 3
Yellow card for John O’Sullivan. Silly one to give away but the Qarabag lad did go down fairly easy.
And the referee blows it up. Disappointing for Shelbourne but Qarabag were a huge step up from last week’s opponents.
Lots of missed chances for the Dubliners, particularly at the outset of the second half, but they just couldn’t make them stick.
FT – SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 3
90 MINS: Shelbourne have had the wind knocked out of them with those two quick goals.
Crowd trying to keep their chants going to get them to the final whistle but Tolka’s feeling fairly flat.
Three minutes to be added on.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 3
84 MINS: Another goal for Qarabag.
Kameron Ledwidge heads back to Lorcan Healy but puts too much on it. Nariman Akhundzade sees it coming and runs in past Healy to send the ball to the back of the net.
Two more changes for Qarabag, some fresh legs to see them out.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 3
80 MINS: Goal for Qarabag.
Cruel one for Shelbourne. Kady cuts straight down the middle to pass on to Nariman Akhundzade. He chips Lorcan Healy to hit the base of the right post but Oleksiy Kashchuk is there to tap it in.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 2
78 MINS: Qarabag up to a bit of devilment it seems. Two players down with cramp to halt play. Referee indicates he’ll add the time on at the end.
Double substitution for the visitors. Abbas Huseynov and Olexly Kashchuk, Dani Bolt and Leandro Andrade make way.
And a change for Shels, Sean Boyd takes the place of Mipo Odubeko up front.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
70 MINS: Nasty enough challenge from Harry Wood sees him shown a yellow card. Might be a bit lucky with a yellow at that.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
69 MINS: Another solid save from Healy. Having a good night between the posts.
Yellow card for Qarabag’s Dani Bolt for a challenge on James Norris. Bolt stays down injured but the referee’s in no rush, happy to wait to flash the deserved card.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
65 MINS: Joey O’Brien goes to his bench for a double change.
John Martin in for Ali Coote and John O’Sullivan replaces Evan Caffrey.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
59 MINS: Shelbourne have started the second half as they did the first, plenty of pace and a high push.
For Qarabag, Leandro Andrade lets rip a shot straight at Lorcan Healy. No bother for the goalkeeper called up in Conor Kearns’ absence.
Qarabag look happy to sit back for now and let Shels tire.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
56 MINS: Another Shels chance. Great link-up play from Harry Wood and Ali Coote. A shot from the latter just skirts over the woodwork.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
55 MINS: Chance for Shels but no luck. Kerr McInroy sends a long pass in for Kameron Ledwidge but his cross to deflected out over the crossbar by Matheus Silva.
Much better from Shelbourne as the home crowd finds its voice again.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
52 MINS: Free kick for Shels after Kerr McInroy is taken down by Kady.
Harry Wood sends it in but Qarabag are well covered.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
46 MINS: Early save from Lorcan Healy. He does well to get to a head from Emmanuel Addai.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
45 MINS: Ali Coote tips off for Shels and we’re back under way.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
Nearly ready to get back under way at Tolka Park. Big half needed from Joey O’Brien’s side.
Captain Mark Coyle comes in to replace Sean Gannon for Shelbourne.
HALF-TIME – SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
HALF-TIME – SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
48 MINS: Shelbourne revert to their quick short play before the referee blows it up for half time.
HALF-TIME – SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
45 MINS: Three minutes added on. Nearly there lads.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
44 MINS: Harry Wood takes a shot but it trails left. Mipo Odubeko none too pleased not to have got the pass.
Yellow card for Qarabag’s Nariman Akhundzade, followed shortly after by one for Sean Gannon. Both were a while coming.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
38 MINS: Qarabag free kick finds Kady who drills the shot on target but Shels captain Paddy Barrett puts in a strong block to send it out for a corner.
The visitors have slowed this right down, utterly in control.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
33 MINS: Shels clear up the win and a brilliant run from Evan Caffrey finds him on the end of it. Harry Wood does well to get up to assist and it goes out for a throw.
Qarabag get away easily. Another bright moment for Shels that they fail to capitalise on.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
29 MINS: Qarabag are pacy while Shelbourne are playing damage control. Joey O’Brien’s men haven’t put Fabijan Buntic‘s goal under any real threat since Gannon’s early chance.
Lorcan Healy puts in a good save to deny Qarabag at second goal.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
24 MINS: Sean Gannon is living dangerously. He’ll draw a card if he keeps these challenges up. Gets a telling off from the referee for a high arm.
Qarabag hit the crossbar Shelbourne opt to play it out of defence and they’re flailing.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
19 MINS: Mipo Odubeko showing he’s a threat up front. Beats Matheus Silva for a run on goal but he’s called for offside.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
17 MINS: Tyreke Wilson is helped off by the medical team, James Norris takes his place.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
16 MINS: Qarabag showing a quantity over quality approach to their shooting as another sails over the woodwork.
That being said, it’s working from them given their lead.
Tyreke Wilson down injured for Shels so a little breather.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
12 MINS: Goal for Qarabag.
Leandro Andrade sends it over Lorcan Healy’s box to captain Abdellah Zoubir who plays it around Evan Caffrey to pick out Tural Bayramov who sends it on to Leandro Andrade in the box for a simple tap in.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 1
11 MINS: Shelbourne have shot out of the gates. Some really good play up front but their defence is being caught on the hop at times.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 0
6 mins: CHANCE FOR SHELS! Corner from Harry Wood goes slightly beyond Ali Coote but he manages to get it under control.
Coote sends it back in to Tyreke Wilson who meets it with a diving header but it’s blocked. Sean Gannon tries the rebound but it’s somehow cleared by Fabijan Buntic on the line.
Zoubir shoots over the woodwork at the other end. Hectic stuff.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 0
5 MINS: Qarabag captain Abdellah Zoubir causing the hosts trouble on the wing.
Free for Shelbs, Pedro Bicalho goes in too hard on Ali Coote who goes down.
Shelbourne are turned over and Zoubir is back again with another cut in but it’s to the right of the upright again.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 0
3 MINS: Early free for the visitors and a soft one at that. Mipo Odubeko shows good pace but the referee doesn’t like his challenge.
At the other end, a poor Shelbourne clearance gives a chance to Kady, but he pulls it right.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 0
Off we go. Qarabag get us under way at Tolka Park.
SHELBOURNE 0 QARABAG 0
Five-minute warning as the teams emerge from the tunnel.
As Gavin mentions in his preview, Qarabag is a tall ask of the League of Ireland champs.
But should they fall to their Azerbaijani counterparts over these next two fixtures (second leg is next Wednesday in Baku, kick-off 5pm Irish time), it won’t be the end of the European road for Shels as they’ll drop down to the third round Europa League qualifiers.
Should they prevail, they’ll face the winner of Steaua Bucharest and Shkëndija in the Champions League third round qualifiers, which will be played over two legs on August 5th/6th and 12th.
Shkëndija lead their second-round battle after a 1-0 home win in Skopje, North Macedonia on Tuesday.
Twenty minutes from kick-off at Tolka Park.
“Life inside a League of Ireland club never slows, especially for Shelbourne in the middle of a Champions League campaign that has them welcoming European specialists Qarabag to Dublin before next week’s second leg in Azerbaijan when Joey O’Brien’s squad is expected to be rerouted to the Europa League,” Gavin Cummiskey writes in his preview of this evening’s game.
“If Shelbourne can pull off a shock and progress to round three, the winners of Steaua Bucharest and Shkëndija of North Macedonia will be waiting.”
But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Gavin notes: “An obvious advantage for O’Brien’s battle-hardened team is that Qarabag arrive undercooked, having only played preseason friendlies against Twente and Salzburg.”
Read his full preview of the game below:
[ Shelbourne looking to pull off a shock and take Qarabag scalpOpens in new window ]
And what of Qarabag? Well, they’re the Premier League champions – not that Premier League, the Azerbaijan Premier League.
This year marked their fourth successive victory, and before their defeat in the 2021 final against Neftci Qarabag had won seven titles in a row.
Shelbourne qualified for the second round after a 2-1 aggregate win over NIFL champions Linfield in the opening round.
In the first-leg game, Mipo Odubeko scored the only goal of the evening at Tolka Park, giving Joey O’Brien’s men the upper hand as they headed northward to Belfast last week.
A far more tense affair, Alistair Coote opened the scoring on 24 minutes to put Shels ahead, only for Chris Shields to hit back from the penalty spot as the clock ticked into the red.
The visitors then had a goal for Kerr McInroy chalked off to leave things 1-1 at the break.
Linfield came out swinging and were unfortunate not to capitalise on sloppy play from Shelbourne, but a red card for Ben Hall spelt the beginning of the end for the hosts. Reduced to 10 men for the final half-hour, Linfield were out on their feet trying to fend off Shelbourne’s advances before the Dubliners seemed happy to take the draw, holding possession to see out the game.
Here’s how Shels line out for the evening:
SHELBOURNE: Healy; Caffrey, Gannon, Barrett (capt), Ledwidge, Wilson, Lunney, McInroy, Wood, Coote, Mipo.
Subs: Speel, Topcu, Chaman, Coyle, Boyd, Martin, Bone, O’Sullivan, Kelly, Norris, Temple, Offor.
And their guests:
QARABAG: Buntic; Bayramov, Silva, Mustafazae, Bolt, Kady, Addai, Bicalho, Zoubir, Axundzade, Andrade.
Subs: Mehemmedeliyev, Kashchuk, Qurbanli, Huseynov, Cararguliyev, Guseynov, Medina, Kochalski.
Evening all! Welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for Shelbourne’s Champions League qualifier against Qarabag FK.
The game kicks off at Tolka Park at 7.45pm.
We’ll be keeping you updated on all the action, with a match report from Gavin Cummiskey to follow shortly after the final whistle.
