Shelbourne Ajax: Shels exit Europe after a special 2-2 night in Tolka

The night Tolka Park came alive

On paper, Shelbourne Ajax was no contest on Thursday: a League of Ireland Premier Division side against one of the most decorated clubs on the continent, on a tight little ground in north Dublin, with a two-goal deficit to overturn.

Ajax were pushed all the way anyway.

The tie ended with Shels out of the Conference League, beaten 5-3 on aggregate, but the second leg finished 2-2 and left John Russell’s players walking off to an ovation.

Dan Kelly and Sean Moore scored the goals as the hosts twice came from behind, and Russell was left convinced his side could have won it.

Shels went into the game trailing 3-1 from the first leg against Ajax, a scoreline that owed plenty to goalkeeper Eddie Beach and to Kelly’s late goal in Amsterdam.

That away goal was the reason there was still a tie to play for, and it was Kelly who was at the heart of things again in Drumcondra.

Twice Ajax went in front, and twice Shels came back at them. Russell said afterwards that the plan in the return was always to have a go, and that the ground itself was part of the plan.

"It’s a special night because this is Ajax we’re talking about, one of the powerhouses of European football, with such history and they’ve come into Tolka," said John Russell

"It was brilliant we could host the game here and this club’s had some really good European nights over the last season or two but tonight is one of the special ones."

"We felt that, Tolka Park, a tight ground, was going to be different to the Johan Cruyff Arena," he told RTÉ Sport.

"Over there, we had to suffer and defend, it’s a big pitch. We rode our luck at times, we had to rely on Eddie Beach but tonight we felt that we could, with our gameplan, have a go off them. And we did."

Sean Moore of Shelbourne in action against Ajax, during the UEFA Conference League Third Qualifying Round. Image: Getty.

The VAR call that took the edge off it

The one sore point was a Milan Mbeng strike ruled out by VAR early in the second half.

"Really disappointed with the VAR decision. It looked like it was a legit goal," Russell said, The 42 reports. 

"I think you have to be really pleased with the performance tonight," he added.

"To be coming away from a 90-minute game disappointed not to go and win it… In the second half, we got our block up higher. We got a higher press. We went after Ajax and caused them problems."

Russell singled out Kelly and Rodrigo Frei for their displays, praised Moore, and confirmed that Paddy Barrett was not injured despite being absent from the matchday squad.

Where that leaves Shels

The European run is over, and the aggregate scoreline will read as a defeat in the record books.

But the story of the night was a Premier Division side going toe to toe with one of the continent’s most decorated clubs, in front of a Tolka Park crowd that made itself heard, and a manager talking about performance levels rather than damage limitation.

That is the value of these nights for a League of Ireland club.

Two games against opposition of a standard the Premier Division cannot manufacture, and a squad that now knows exactly what it can do against it.

Russell will take that back into the domestic season with him.

"We’ve gotten a draw against a massive club and the energy from the crowd tonight was amazing," Russell said.

On a Thursday night in Drumcondra, that will do nicely.