|
Shels off to Sligo in Cup
5 August 2003
From Slovenia to Sligo, Shels will face a difficult few days on the road this month. Almost immediately upon their return from Ljubljana, the team will have to face the trek to the north-west to take on Rovers in the third round of the FAI Senior Challenge Cup.
This will be the first time the sides have faced each other in the competition since the 1996 semi-final. That day a gem from Tony Sheridan was enough to give the Reds victory at The Showgrounds. In what will prove a pivotal week in the club's fortunes this season, this is surely an omen!
Wes named in Irish u21 squad
5 August 2003
Wes has been named in Don Given's under-21 squad which will travel to Poland later this month for an international friendly. In a squad deliberately depleted of many of its experienced players as the manager experiments with some possible alternatives, Wes remains in as only one of four players with a good deal of experience at this level.
Thsi may prove a shrewd move by Givens as Wes' recent display against Crusaders was his best since the 1-1 draw in Drogheda at the start of the season and suggests that he may be getting into some form.
As always, Planet Shels wishes Wes and the entire squad the best for the game.
Shels cruise past Crusaders
31 July 2003
Allegedly a behind-closed-doors game, a full-strength Shels side comfortably dispatched Crusaders tonight with Wes Houlihan in particularly inspirational form. Crusaders failed to get a handle on him throughout the game and paid the price for this as he went about creating the first two goals for his team. For the first, a trademark turn provided him with enough space to pick out Ger McCarthy, who scored with a low header. For the second, which came in the second half, Wes' through ball left Dessie Baker in acres of space and he easily tucked the ball passed the advancing keeper. Stephen Geoghegan then met a Richie Baker cross for the third. Shels created plenty of other chances and Jason Byrne and Dessie will be scratching their heads at the four clear-cut opening that they contrived to miss between them. The manager also used the game as an experiment, with certain players selected out of position. However, the quality of the opposition meant that any assessment of these changes will be of limited value.
Owen to face ban?
8 July 2003
Eleven-A-Side
Shelbourne captain Owen Heary could be facing a lengthy ban if the eircom League decide to punish him for an alleged push on referee Jimmy O'Neill during Shels 0-0 draw with Cork City earlier in the season.
Although O'Neill did not mention the incident in his match report which has subsequently seen him demoted to fourth official for a month for failing to do so, Referee's Chief Pat Kelly has asked for the League to review the incident.
Heary was judged to have made physical contact with O'Neill after he awarded a controversial penalty to Cork and sent Shelbourne midfielder Jim Crawford to the line.
The League's management committee are due to meet on July 28 whereby the matter will be discussed and the Shels skipper could be hit with a long suspension if found guilty.
"I have sent a letter and a video of the game and it is now up to the League to make a decision," said Kelly. " It is clear from the footage that there was physical contact and it is up to the League to look at it and make its mind up on what to do."
Shels go down 2-1 to Glentoran in friendly
6 July 2003
A second-string eleven slipped to a 2-1 defeat having led for most of the match courtesy of a Dessie Baker penalty after the ball was handled inside the area. The Northern Ireland champions had started the better though and Shels were fortunate on two occasions to survive the early barrage. However, the penalty came during a decent spell of Shels pressure.
Glentoran definitely came to make a game of it and some heavy challenges necessitated the flourishing of the yellow card on three occasions. However, Shels seemed to be comfortably containing them, despite playing several players out of position.
However, as a lively second half began to draw to a close, Shels seemed to be tiring more rapidly than the away side and Glentoran pulled the equaliser back from a corner and then exploited a lot of space at the back to fashion the winner.
One of the best performances from a Shels' perspective was by Phillip Bardsley at right back. One errant pass apart, for a young defender making his debut in a side, he appeared very composed and technically sound. However, his fitness is not quite up to his ability yet and he had to be withdrawn minutes into the second half.
New starlet joins Shels
5 July 2003
Eleven-A-Side
Shelbourne have taken highly-rated young Manchester United defender Phillip Bardsley on trial with a view to a loan deal at Tolka Park, where he will play in a friendly against Irish League side Glentoran on Sunday afternoon.
Bardsley comes with the recommendation of United supremo Sir Alex Ferguson, who offered the young Englishman his first senior professional contract recently.
Reds boss Pat Fenlon said: "He's just signed a new contract and he was recommended by Sir Alex, so that has to be taken into consideration."
Shels and United have an underage link-up arrangement, and Bardsley is the first youngster to head for the eircom League side as a means of exposing him to competitive first-team action.
Drawn with Olimpija Ljubljana for UEFA Cup
20 June 2003
Shelbourne will face an away trip to the beautiful and historical city of Ljubljana in August after being paired with Slovenian side, Olimpija Ljubljana, in the preliminary round of the 2003/04 UEFA Cup competition.
In media interviews, manager Pat Fenlon confessed to knowing little about Shels' European opponents, but was relieved to have avoided a trip into Eastern Europe:
"Obviously we'll be making lots of enquiries and apart from the football side of things, we'll be keen to learn about such things as travel access and the weather conditions and the temperatures we can expect."
"From what I hear they had a poor league campaign but qualified as cup winners. I'm just glad for the moment that we didn't draw a difficult East European side."
Olimpija dominated the early years of the Slovenian league, following the break-up of the former Yuogslavia, winning four staight titles between 1992 and 1995. They have since been eclipsed by Maribor, who have now won seven titles in a row. Last season, Olimpija finished third in the league, but won the cup. Strangely, they had three points deducted for failing to show up for one of their matches. Travelling supporters beware!!!
They have a long history in Europe, with a record of having played 38, winning 12, drawing 9, and losing 17. In these games, they scored 43 times and conceded 65.
| 