Shelbourne 0 Deportivo La Coruna 0A great night that will go down in Shelbourne history and will be long remembered by the capacity crowd at Lansdowne Road. The home side thoroughly deserved their share of the spoils against last year's Champions League semi-finalists, producing an industrious and gutsy display that could have yielded a fairytale ending.
Shelbourne produced the best chance of the night but, encumbered by the greasy surface that saw the ball arrive quicker than he had anticipated, an unmarked Jason Byrne snatched at it from 10 yards.
Deportivo La Coruna were reduced to half chances, Walter Pandiani enjoying probably their best opportunity only to be denied by a splendid tackle from Shels captain Owen Heary.
Stuart Byrne did a superb man-marking job on Juan Valeron, Jamie Harris was impressive at the back and Wesley Hoolahan was a lithe and skilful presence in midfield.
Shelbourne fully deserved the ovation they received at full-time and again when they returned to applaud their supporters minutes after the final whistle.
They face a monumental task in a fortnight's time in Spain but last night will have given them plenty of self-belief.
The decision of both teams to pack the midfield meant there was little space but one player who thrived in the clutter was Hoolahan. Alert, sharp and skilful on the greasy surface, he managed to drift away from Mauro Silva by dropping deep as Deportivo's captain seemed reluctant to stray too far from his customary role in front of the back four.
Indeed the Spaniards opted to play Mauro Silva and Sergio Gonzalez - he tracked Alan Moore - in holding roles in front of the defence with Alberto Luque and Victor Sanchez on the wings, Valeron roaming through the middle and Walter Pandiani as a lone striker.
Shelbourne had Stuart Byrne shadow Valeron, leaving a four-man midfield with Glen Fitzpatrick ploughing a lonely furrow up front. Both teams were reluctant to push up their strikers, with the result that most of the play was condensed in a narrow funnel down the centre of the pitch.
But on the occasions play went wide, the game broke open. Luque was giving Owen Heary a tough time down the left and the Shelbourne captain was eventually booked for going through the back of the winger.
Jason Byrne, playing on the right of midfield, hadn't been tight enough in protecting Heary in the opening 20 minutes but in the second quarter dropped deeper and offered better cover to his full back.
Shelbourne defended with discipline but Fitzpatrick looked an increasingly forlorn figure as he struggled to hold up play.
Deportivo's main outlet was Luque and although he managed to whip in three or four dangerous crosses, Pandiani was well marshalled, especially by the impressive Jamie Harris.
A long-range shot from Stuart Byrne was comfortably gathered by Molina but the Deportivo goalkeeper was far less assured when racing out from a clever Hoolahan chip. As he dithered, Alan Moore raced through but was penalised for foot-up as he clattered into Molina.
The latter recovered initially but was eventually replaced on 41 minutes by Gustavo Munua.
An incisive run by Ollie Cahill drew a foul and from the Jason Byrne free kick, Moore's stooping header was denied by Mauro Silva's boot.
Deportivo's first shot on target came from Victor but was comfortably dealt with by Steve Williams.
But the best chance of the first half came in injury time when a superb overlapping run by Heary was matched with a perfectly judged pull back. Unfortunately Jason Byrne snatched at the clear-cut chance from 10 yards.
The visitors started the second half in a brighter fashion, pushing players on and denying Shelbourne space to build from the back. It took a wonderful tackle from Heary to atone for an error from the otherwise impressive Harris and deny Pandiani as he bore down on goal.
Deportivo wasted a chance from a 22-yard free kick in a central position after Shelbourne had given the ball away cheaply.
Shels manager Pat Fenlon demonstrated his tactical acumen by withdrawing the hard-working Fitzpatrick, pushing Jason Byrne into his favoured striking role and introducing Joseph Ndo.
The former Cameroon international was a lively presence down the right and gave Romero some uneasy moments. Jason Byrne's pace guaranteed he was a far greater threat down the middle.
The Spaniards had identified Hoolahan as a threat and closed him down much more quickly as Shelbourne drove on looking for something to defend in the second leg. Moore nearly provided it with his stooping header on 77 minutes that drew a sprawling save from Munua.
Shelbourne's reluctance to throw men forward and risk being caught on the counterattack was understandable but they did recognise that Cahill's pace was a threat down the left and looked to release him with the ball over the top.
As the game drew to a conclusion Shelbourne endured one more nervous moment when substitute Pedro Munitis drove from the left wing into the box but pulled his shot wide of Williams's right-hand upright.
SHELBOURNE: Williams; Heary, Rogers, Harris, Crawley; S Byrne; J Byrne, Moore, Hoolahan, Cahill; Fitzpatrick (Ndo 61). Yellow cards: Heary (26 mins), Cahill (91 mins).
DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA: Molina (Munua 41); Manuel Pablo, Caesar, Andrade, Romero; Sergio (Duscher 66), Mauro Silva; Victor, Valeron, Luque (Munitis 79); Pandiani. Yellow cards: Sergio (22 mins), Pandiani (64 mins).
Referee: M Benes (Czech Republic)
