Shelbourne 0
Brondby 3
(Agg: 0-5)
By Paul Doyle
Shelbourne were comprehensively beaten by Brondby in front of a disappointingly low crowd at Tolka Park.
The Danish visitors effectively ended the tie after just 12 minutes, when Ruben Bagger crashed a brilliant volley in off Steve Williams’s bar.
That sparkling strike meant Shels had to score at least four times to progress and the disjointed way in which they started didn't give much cause for optimism.
In the 21st minute, however, Brian Byrne almost got the come-back underway when he collected an Owen Heary pass and fired a 20-yard drive just wide of the post.
Then, in the 32nd minute, Gary Haylock missed a glorious chance to pull the sides level on the night. Tony McCarthy got his head to a long punt into the Brondby box, the ball bounced free to Haylock who had the space to volley at goal from 9 yards, but, when hitting the target seemed the very minimum to be expected, he directed his shot just over the bar.
Shels were guilty of poor finishing again in the second half. In the 62nd minute, the ball broke kindly to Richie Foran in the box; from 15 yards, he drove his shot straight at the Brondby ‘keeper. Then, to compound Shels misery, Brondby launched forward and notched an easy second goal. Bagger was again to the fore, drawing Williams from his goal only to knock the ball side-ways to Jorgensen to slide it into the untended net.
Brondby embarrased the Dubliners even further when Madsen tapped in a third goal and from then on, the only reason for home fans to keep watching was to see if Foran managed to avoid a red card, which he did - just.
Other result:
Litex Lovech 2 Longford 0Agg: 3-1