SHELBOURNE 2 (Sam Bone 58, John Martin 70)
Away wins in the Europa League are a rarity for Irish teams but this comeback victory puts Shelbourne on the brink of the lucrative league phase worth €3.8m.
It’s only the midway point of the tie against a classy Rijeka side but instead of having to beat either Linfield or Vikingur Gøta in a playoff for a berth in the Conference League, avoiding defeat at home next Tuesday before a sold-out Tolka Park would guarantee that spot.
Shels boss Joey O’Brien highlighted the league’s poor record on foreign soil but a dramatic turnaround trumped that to gild the club’s return to Europe following an 18-month drought.
Shamrock Rovers were the last team to win a Europa League fixture away from home and that two-leg victory over the Macedonian side secured their passage to the next stage of the Conference League.
It changed from the group to league phase last year and once Shels hold the visitors in the return, they’ll have six more games in the Autumn to relish.
Things looked ominous for the League of Ireland champions when the Croatians struck first in a tight contest by Niko Janković converting a penalty but all that breakthrough in the 56th minute did was instigate a swift revival for the Reds.
Defender Sam Bone equalised within two minutes by nodding in a rehearsed corner and another header, this time a bullet version by Waterford native John Martin, made it 2-1 with 20 minutes left.
Bone was again in the thick of it in stoppage time but at this other end when a struck his arm.
Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos consulted with VAR but blew for full-time instead of for a penalty, much to the relief of the Shels contingent.
More to follow….