Linfield travel to Dublin for UEFA Conference League action, facing Shelbourne at Tolka Park in the Play-Off Round of the competition (7.45pm k.o. all-ticket). There will be full coverage of the game on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website. The 2nd leg of the tie is at Windsor Park on August 28. The teams have of course already met this season, Shelbourne triumphing 2-1 on aggregate in the Champions League.
In the Conference League Linfield went on to eliminate Lithuanian and Faroese opposition in Zalgiris (agg 2-1) and Vikingur (agg 3-2) respectively in the 2nd and 3rd Qualifying Rounds of the competition.
Shelbourne’s arrival at this stage of the Conference League competition follows Champions League defeat to Azerbaijan side Qarabag (agg 0-4), followed by elimination from the Europa League to Rejika from Croatia (agg 3-4).
The stakes are sky high for both teams with a highly lucrative place in the league stage of the competition up for grabs. The Blues are in a much stronger position since they faced Shelbourne in their first competitive fixture of the season in July. With the domestic season now in full swing and 4 further European games under their belt, Linfield will hopefully now be firing on all cylinders.
It promises to be a tense night of football in the compact Tolka Park stadium and David Healy’s men will look towards the vociferous support of the small band of travelling faithful to once again be their 12th man on the night.
COYB!
By Ken Garrett.
