Shelbourne will get a rare chance to host Ajax at Tolka Park this week, with the UEFA Conference League tie returning to Dublin after a 3-1 first-leg loss in Amsterdam. It will be Ajax’s first competitive match in Ireland since 1987, when the Dutch club played Dundalk at Oriel Park in the Cup Winners’ Cup.
The venue adds to the occasion. Tolka Park holds just 4,343 spectators, and Shelbourne’s Ballybough end will be closed for the match. Ajax supporters have been allocated 370 tickets, while the game is expected to be a full house for the home side. The fixture was arranged to satisfy UEFA rather than be moved to Tallaght or the Aviva Stadium, which only increases the sense that this is an unusual night for both clubs.
What happened in Amsterdam
The first leg last Thursday finished 3-1 to Ajax, and Shelbourne came away feeling they had enough to make the return match worthwhile. The game was remembered for the goalkeeping of Eddie Beach and the late goal by Dan Kelly, both of which helped keep the tie alive heading into Dublin. Ajax then followed that up with a 2-0 away win over PEC Zwolle last Sunday in their opening Eredivisie game.
Shelbourne, meanwhile, came up short at home to St Patrick’s Athletic last Sunday. Even so, manager John Russell said the 3-1 scoreline was something the club would have accepted before kick-off, while also stressing that coming back to Tolka Park changes the setting for the second leg.
What it means at Tolka Park
Russell’s view is straightforward: Shelbourne are not at the stage of development where they are expected to compete with a club like Ajax across a full Conference League group phase, but a home return at Tolka Park gives them a chance to make the night more difficult. As he put it, if Shelbourne had been offered 3-1 before the game, they would have taken it, and now the tie returns to a ground where a full house should create a different atmosphere.
That is the key point heading into this week’s match. Ajax have the advantage on the scoreboard, but Shelbourne get the setting they wanted, in front of their own crowd, in a ground that is small, familiar and difficult for visiting teams to ignore. For Ajax, it is a rare competitive trip to Ireland. For Shelbourne, it is another chance to measure themselves against one of Europe’s best-known clubs, even if the gap between the sides was clear in Amsterdam.
