Joey O’Brien’s Reds bounced back from the disappointment of a nightmare penalty concession to score twice against the Croatian champions and travel home with dreams of securing league phase football in front of their own fans at Tolka Park.

Winning in this stage of the Europa League guarantees teams a Conference League place no matter what happens in the final playoff in the second tier competition, progression that is worth a minimum of €3.8m to the participants.

O’Brien said on the eve of the match that the Reds weren’t thinking about the Plan B option of a possible playoff with Linfield if this tie didn’t work out. And the way they approached this challenge backed up his words with second half goals from Sam Bone and sub John Martin delivering the goods against a stuttering host who desperately need the presence of creative playmaker Toni Fruk for the decider. He was suspended for this encounter, and the local TV producer consistently scanning to Fruk in the crowd appeared to be making that point.

Shelbourne players celebrate after their victory in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg match over Rijeka at HNK Rijeka Stadium Rujevica in Rijeka, Croatia. Photo by Igor Kupjlenik/Sportsfile

The guests started with two up top, although an injury to Sean Boyd forced the early change that brought Martin in. While they did spend large spells of the first half on the back foot, pain was minimal. Indeed, for 55 minutes, all Rijeka could muster was shots from distance.

Then, Dutch keeper Wessel Speel miscontrolled a back pass and Merveil Ndockyt nipped in to win a stone cold spot kick that Niko Jankovic converted.

The Shelbourne response to the sickening moment was instantaneous, with their best attack of the game forcing a corner and an equaliser. A clever routine away to Linfield was chalked off by VAR but they got their blocks right for this one, with a short take and then Kerr McInroy’s lofted chip to the back post finding the unmarked James Norris who headed back across goal with Bone helping the ball into the empty net. Croatian protests fell on deaf ears.

And the joy allowed Shels to grow in confidence, with Rijeka increasingly sloppy in terms of defensive discipline in their own half.

Martin gave the away fans behind the goal a thrill with a long range shot that fizzed narrowly wide and he was just finding his range with Shelbourne patiently working the opportunity that allowed the substitute to deliver a moment to remember, wriggling free in the box to dispatch a cross from the superb Harry Wood with a precise header.

Rijeka applied pressure in response without banging the door down, with Paddy Barrett imperious as VAR provided the only scare in the dying stages. Shels survived it to move on the brink of something special.

HNK Rijeka: Zlomislic; Orec, Majstorovic (Husic 45), Radeljic, Devetak (Lasickas 45); Jankovic, Gojak (Menalo 69), Dantas; Ndockyt, Juric (Cop 69), Butic (Yankov 76)

Shelbourne: Speel; Mbeng (Gannon 86), Bone, Barrett, Ledwidge, Norris; McInroy (Coyle 86), Lunney, Wood (Chapman 77); Odubeko (Kelly 45), Boyd (Martin, 19).

Referee: Ricardo de Burgos (Spain).