UEFA Cup First Round First Leg: Joseph Ndo was Shelbourne's major injury concern as the league leaders continued their preparations yesterday for tomorrow night's clash with French side Lille at Lansdowne Road writes Emmet Malone.
With Stuart Byrne and Alan Moore suspended for the home leg of the tie, the Cameroon international is viewed by Shelbourne manager Pat Fenlon as crucial to his side's prospects. However, he said yesterday the midfielder would have to prove himself in this morning's final training session at the match venue if he is to be certain of featuring tomorrow evening.
"I think the experience of big occasions Joseph brings to the team would be as important as his actual ability," said Fenlon, "but he's still struggling slightly at the moment and he needs to get through a full training session before we can be sure he's fit to start."
Assuming he comes through this morning's session without aggravating a groin problem, Ndo will start as will Jim Crawford. Crawford has had to settle for observing quite a few big games down the years, including the 1992 FAI Cup final with Bohemians, a Champions League tie in Barcelona with Newcastle, and the more recent one in La Coruna with his current club, from the substitutes' bench.
"It's been very frustrating," said Crawford, whose summer has been disrupted by a number of injury problems, "but I feel as fit as I have ever been at the moment and I'm looking forward to being involved. Obviously I felt it was going to be hard to get back in with everyone in the side playing so well, but I suppose one man's suspension is another's opportunity and I just hope I can do well on such a big occasion."
Fenlon was in France at the weekend to watch Lille beat Nice in a French First Division game and came away impressed with the club's performance. Philippe Brunel scored the only goal to give Lille all three points. The result was achieved without Slovenian international midfielder Milenko Acimovic who scored a hat-trick for his country against Moldova the previous weekend.
"I think he was just rested because he'd been away on international duty," said Fenlon, "and the fact they can do that says a lot about the quality of players they have in the squad. To be fair, they probably have three or four players that can play that (attacking-midfield) role. They're a very good side, somewhere between Hajduk Split and Deportivo La Coruna I'd say."
The Dubliner admitted he is disappointed to be back playing at Lansdowne Road again but accepts a decision taken by the board for "financial or whatever other reasons".
The club issued a statement yesterday insisting the switch had been motivated not by the desire to ring the maximum revenue out of the tie, but rather by the availability of better facilities at the southside venue and the fact Tolka's capacity might have had to be severely reduced due to a variety of restrictions.
Lansdowne Road, however, will take some filling for this game and the aim of the club's latest package deal - one that allows three adults and up to 15 children into the game for €120 - suggests they have become just a little pre-occupied with doing so in a way that involves the least number of financial transactions possible.
"I don't know how many will come along," said Fenlon, "but I think what we showed last time is that if people do make the effort and put their hands in their pockets then we'll give them value for money. It doesn't matter too much to the players whether they're playing in front of 24,000 here or a much smaller crowd in the league, they know they have to perform, but it would be great if everybody got behind us again."
