Ten-man Linfield were eliminated from Champions League qualifying last night as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Shelbourne at Windsor Park, with Shels progressing with a 2-1 aggregate scoreline.
Having fought hard at Tolka Park last week to keep the tie alive for the return leg at Windsor Park, the Blues welcomed back Chris Shields from suspension and he replaced Dane McCullough in the Blues’ only change.
With 7,137 spectators in attendance – including 1,300 away fans – this was the third highest attended match in leg two of Q1 in the Champions League after Kairat (KAZ) – Olimpia (SVN) (22,800) and Malmo (SWE) – Iberia (GEO) (13,819).
Needing to win the match, the Blues targeted a fast start and almost took the lead after just 65 seconds when Kirk Millar’s free-kick from the right was met by Ethan McGee at the back post, with the defender doing brilliantly to hook across the goalline and, with the ‘keeper beaten, Ben Hall got a touch at the back post but couldn’t divert it into the net.
The Blues were handed two gifts in the match – one early in each half – but did not take them, and failing to do so proved costly. The first big chance came in the 12th minute as the visitors’ goalkeeper Connor Kearns passed the ball straight to Matthew Fitzpatrick who lobbed him from 20 yards, but the ball flashed past the post.
Linfield were getting some joy down the left against Shels captain Mark Coyle early on, but the defender picked up a knock and had to be replaced on 22 minutes. Vastly experienced defender Sean Gannon replaced him, and it proved effective within minutes as Gannon showed pace to catch up with Callumn Morrison who momentarily looked through on goal, whereas Coyle possibly would not have had the pace to make such a recovery.
Sehlbourne then took the lead on 25 minutes. Despite Chris Shields doing brilliantly to block Harry Wood’s driven shot off the goalline, the ball fell for Ali Coote on the edge of the box and the Blues were unable to get out to him quickly enough to block the shot as the midfielder drilled a crisp strike into the bottom left corner. The Blues then trailed 2-0 on aggregate.
Having had two chances of their own to score previously, Shelbourne’s goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Blues for a period before they regrouped. The visiting goalkeeper Connor Kearns pulled up inured on 31 minutes and was replaced by Lorcan Healy.
The Blues then finished the first half strongly and equalised in the third minute of stoppage time. The excellent Ethan McGee whipped in a cross from the left and it was handled in the air by Tyreke Wilson. Once English Premier League referee Andrew Madley pointed to the spot, it was well dispatched by Chris Shields who sent the goalkeeper the opposite direction in his 55th European appearance.
With Windsor rocking, the Blues had the wind in their sails, but the joy was short-lived.. but then it wasn’t! In a dramatic few minutes, Shelbourne scored in the fifth minute of additional time as Kerr McInroy clinically finished a well-worked short corner routine. However, VAR advised Andrew Madley to go to the monitor, and he spotted a discreet tug on Euan East’s jersey by Patrick Barrett, and the goal was then disallowed.
HT: Linfield 1-1 Shelbourne
It was almost a case of rinse and repeat just seconds into the second half as Shelbourne’s substitute goalkeeper passed the ball straight to Callumn Morrison on the edge of the box, but the Scotsman dragged his shot which allowed the ‘keeper to save with his legs, another huge opportunity.
Shelbourne then had a strong spell on top with goalward strikes from Sean Gannon and Harry Wood crucially blocked by Matthew Orr, and Ali Coote also fired over from a dangerous position in side the box.
It then became an uphill task for the Blues when they were reduced to ten men in the 63rd minute. Matthew Orr’s pass was intercepted by Mipo Odubeko whose pace took him beyond Ben Hall and, as the striker was going through on goal before being caught by the defender, Hall received a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. It was a challenge he had to try and make, but a tough one to make due to the pace and momentum of the striker.
Despite being a man down and needing another goal, Linfield’s ten men absolutely emptied the tank and battled away. Shels were unable to put it to bed, being wasteful when they got into good areas. Once such example was when Caffrey fired just wide after a neat one-two with Boyd, although Linfield were unhappy as Euan East was down with a head injury for the entirety of the attack.
The closing stages saw Linfield throw attack-minded players Charlie Allen, Chris McKee and Kieran Offord on, and Offord did go close as his curling left-footed shot drew a good diving save from the ‘keeper, but the Blues struggled to mount much late pressure as Shelbourne kept the ball well and it was tough for the Blues, chasing the ball with ten men in their second competitive game of the season, but they gave everything they had and it just wasn’t enough.
It was not the result David Healy was wanting to mark his 500th match in charge of Linfield but his attention will now turn to familiar opposition in the form of Lithuanian champions Zalgiris Vilnius, with the Blues travelling to Vilnius next Thursday 24 July for the first leg in Q2 of the UEFA Conference League. The two teams previously met in 2021 when the Lithuanians prevailed.
FT: Linfield 1-1 Shelbourne (1-2 agg)