Shelbourne 0 Steau Bucharest 0It may not be enough to see them through to the third round a week from now, but Shelbourne's hard-earned draw against the Romanian champions at Tolka Park last night provided further evidence of the team's growing ability to cope with sides traditionally considered a league or two above the best this country had to offer.
The visitors, one presumes, will return home confident of doing enough to progress next Wednesday. But, whereas on countless previous occasions Irish sides have folded under the sort of pressure to which Shelbourne were subjected through the second half, the worst Pat Fenlon's could be accused of would be not quite having the wherewithal to build on what was a good start to an entertaining game.
Thirteen years ago Bohemians held Steaua in Dublin, only to be beaten 4-0 in the second leg. On the strength of this, it is hard to see things going so badly for Shelbourne, but without a lead to take away with them they face an uphill task against a side that provided glimpses over a disjointed last half hour of the sort of controlled football they are capable of producing.
In front of a sell-out crowd that included many of Dublin's Romanian community, the sides might have been scored by judges as having won a half apiece.
Still, it was long after their influence on the proceedings had waned that Shelbourne had their best chance of the night, and there will be huge disappointment that they failed to find the net when Ollie Cahill slipped brilliantly past his man down the left and sent in a cross that beat the visiting goalkeeper before eluding both Alan Moore and Jamie Harris at the far post.
Prior to the game, Steaua's coach, Oleg Protasov, had promised to provide the Shelbourne back four with a sterner test than the one set by Glentoran last week, and the early exchanges certainly suggested that the Ukrainian's players would be as good as their manager's word.
The pace of the game from the opening seconds was furious, with both sides pressing hard, but it was the Romanians who initially looked the better suited to life in the fast lane. Doubts about the home side's ability to cope surfaced quickly, with Moore slipping the ball out wide to Cahill only for the former Cork City winger to badly fluff his cross while under pressure.
Moments later, the visitors provided the first hint of their abilities when Sorin Ghionea floated a ball over the top for Banel Nicolita and the midfielder chested it sweetly on before driving a first-time shot almost straight at Dean Delaney which, one suspected, was just as well for the 24-year-old goalkeeper.
Thereafter, however, it was more or less one-way traffic in the first half with Shelbourne dominating in terms of possession and creating what chances there were.
The best of them fell to Glen Crowe and, playing behind him in midfield, Jason Byrne, but neither could get the touch required to score on the handful of occasions when the Steaua defence didn't look on top of things.
Around them there were a string of strong performances. Cahill more than redeemed himself over the course of the half, Moore showed the sort of quality he seems to reserve for special occasions and Richie Baker gave the young left back Mircea Nesu plenty of trouble.
Shelbourne had little choice but to defend after the break as Steaua reorganised and pressed forward in search of an away goal.
Steadily they started to deliver on the promise shown in the early minutes, and Shelbourne, now having to cope with the bulk of the game being played in their half, had to wing it a little at the back more than once.
Even then, Constantin Iacob was allowed two free headers from close range and there was huge relief among the home support as the striker turned the first over and the second well wide of the post.
Fatigue and injuries took their toll over the closing stages, during which Fenlon had to replace both of his strikers while leaving Moore, by now struggling himself, to provide a link between the midfield and Jamie Harris up front.
The arrival of Curtis Fleming, though, did help to steady things just in front of a back four, and Shelbourne will travel hopeful they can pull off an upset, even if they will have to do it without Colin Hawkins, who will be suspended due to a second-half booking.
SHELBOURNE: Delaney, Heary, Rogers, Crawley, Hawkins, Baker, Cahill, Stuart Byrne (Crawford 36), Moore, Jason Byrne (Fleming 77), Crowe (Harris 75). Subs Not Used: Williams, O'Neill, Fitzpatrick, Ryan. Booked: Crawley, Hawkins.
STEAUA BUCHAREST: Khomutovsky, Radoi, Dica (Oprita 89), Bostina, Nesu, Nicolita (Dinita 84), Iacob (Cristea 81), Ogararu, Paraschiv, Ghionea, Lovin. Subs Not Used: Toma, Balan, Baciu, Keca. Booked: Lovin, Nicolita, Dica, Paraschiv.
Referee: Romans Lajuks (Latvia).
