http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/fixturesresults/round=1967/match=79367/Rep
ort=RP.html

Shelbourne deny Deportivo

Wednesday, 11 August 2004
By Aidan Fitzmaurice at Lansdowne Road


Shelbourne FC rose to the occasion to hold UEFA Champions League
regulars RC Deportivo La Coruna in the first leg of their third q
ualifying round tie.


Full house

A full house of 24,000 saw Shelbourne, who last week eliminated
HNK Hajduk Split, more than match their illustrious opponents
to give themselves a chance in the return on 24 August.


Moment of danger

Neither goalkeeper was too stretched but the best opportunities
fell to the home team, only for a mixture of nervousness and
good saves to prevent the jovial crowd becoming euphoric. However,
it was Deportivo who created the first real moment of danger on
16 minutes when Victor Sanchez whipped in a dangerous cross, only
for Jorge Andrade to prove unable to get on the end of it.


Hoolahan pressure

This was the exception rather than the rule though, as Shelbourne
held the ball up well and refused to allow the visitors the space
that they sought. While the Irish champions' forward line was kept
under wraps for large swathes of the game, Wesley Hoolahan was a
constant threat often forcing Enrique Romero on the retreat.


Missed chance

On 39 minutes it was a pass by Hoolahan that led to the best chance
of the half when he threaded the ball to Owen Heary whose right-wing
centre sat up beautifully for Jason Byrne, but the forward panicked
and failed to connect.


Deportivo pressure

As the second half got under way, it looked as if the home side could
regret the miss, with Deportivo finally getting a strong foothold on
the game. Sergio Gonzalez had an early chance when he was set up by
Albert Luque but his shot went wide and seconds later Shelbourne
captain Heary came to the rescue with a crunching tackle to deny Walter
Pandiani after a slip by Jamie Harris.


Best effort

With pressure mounting, Shelbourne manager Patrick Fenlon sought to
shake his team up and brought on Cameroonian international Joseph Ndo
on 62 minutes and his class revitalised the side. Four minutes later
Oliver Cahill went on a superb run before shooting narrowly wide and
Shelbourne had their best effort of the game with 15 minutes remaining
when Moore got his head to a clever cross by Hoolahan, but Gustavo
Munua - who had earlier replaced the injured Jose Molina - saved well.


Pandiani efforts

Desperate to come away with a goal, Deportivo pressed in the dying
moments and Pandiani had a couple of efforts but failed to hit the
target as Shelbourne secured a famous draw. The Riazor and Diego
Tristan - who was suspended for this leg - await the Irish in two
weeks time.