JOHN RUSSELL WAS focusing on the positives despite seeing his side crash out of Europe on Thursday evening.
Shelbourne lost 5-3 on aggregate but drew 2-2 on the night against an Ajax side with vastly superior resources.
Among the players in action at Tolka Park were Julian Brandt, a 48-cap Germany international who Jürgen Klopp once allegedly wanted to bring to Liverpool instead of Mo Salah, Daley Blind, who made over 100 appearances in four years with Man United, and Abdellah Ouazane, the highly rated 17-year-old who narrowly missed out on a move to Real Madrid last year.
Mika Godts, the exciting young prospect recently linked with PSG and who tormented the Premier Division outfit in the first leg last week, was among those held in reserve.
Given these circumstances, Russell was happy with how his side played in the 2-2 draw, and the outcome could have been even more favourable — Milan Mbeng’s second-half goal was controversially ruled out by VAR.
“I think you have to be really pleased with the performance tonight,” Russell said. “To be coming away from a 90-minute game disappointed not to go and win it… Really disappointed with the VAR decision. It looked like it was a legit goal.
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“First half, our shape was good. We were a threat on the transitions. The first goal, I think it’s a foul on Milan in the lead-up to the corner that was given. I think obviously Ev’s [Evan Caffrey's] goal gives us life and energy in the first half.
“In the second half, we got our block up higher. We got a higher press. We went after Ajax and caused them problems. You could feel the energy in the ground. We were pushing. If we got that goal from VAR with 15 minutes to go, maybe we could have got that third and made it a lot nervier for them.”
Russell continued: “We spoke before the game. Could we get that first goal? I think after five or six minutes we break off a corner. Milan goes down the outside, puts it into the six-yard box for Kerr [McInroy], and he’s driving in. I think their defender gets an unbelievable block, and it goes out for a corner. We don’t even get the corner. That moment, if that goes in, the whole momentum swings in your favour.
“I have to say, the players stuck to the game plan. We looked a threat. We caused problems. We created chances. Obviously, Eddie [Beach] made one or two good saves. He got one or two blocks. We’re playing top-class opposition, but lads can be very proud of their performance today.”
The Shelbourne boss added he was “disappointed” that his men could not get the win against “one of the best teams in Europe” and expressed hope they could maintain that level of performance for the remainder of the Premier Division season.
That's simply sensational from Sean Moore to make it 2-2 on the night! 🤯
One of the highlights was Seán Moore’s superbly taken second-half goal. Since joining from West Ham last year, the 20-year-old’s career at Shels has been stop-start due to injuries, but he has shown signs of coming good recently, having been left out of the Conference League’s league phase squad last year.
“I’ve such belief in that kid since I’ve come in. He got two goals in the game against Kalju at home, and all the games so far, he’s a real live wire. He’s a young player that probably hasn’t had great luck in terms of injuries and a run in the team here, but since I’ve come in here, he’s been available for all the games. He’s started a lot of games; he’s come on and made an impact. I think his ceiling is really high, and hopefully he can keep adding goals to his game from now until the end of the season.”
One player not involved on Thursday night was Paddy Barrett.
Russell cryptically stated that the club captain was not injured but “unavailable” for the game.
Meanwhile, Ajax coach Michel also praised the Dublin side, highlighting their “good mentality,” while criticising his own team.
“The most important thing is to go through the round, and we made it. But the second half wasn’t good enough. In my opinion, the team lacked energy in duels, which is very important, and we didn’t create enough possibilities. On both sides, we didn’t beat the marker, and when they defended with fight, man-to-man, we didn’t win our duels, so it was hard to create chances.
“The pitch was not the problem; our mentality was not good enough in duels. When you play for Ajax, you need to be at 100%.
“In the second half, I didn’t like what I saw. The problem was the team, not individual players. The team wasn’t in a good mentality; we didn’t attack with determination. We needed to make forward passes and face the opponent; the opponent should feel you want to attack them, and I didn’t see that from us in the second half.”
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Shels boss 'proud' of performance as Ajax coach lambasts his team
JOHN RUSSELL WAS focusing on the positives despite seeing his side crash out of Europe on Thursday evening.
Shelbourne lost 5-3 on aggregate but drew 2-2 on the night against an Ajax side with vastly superior resources.
Among the players in action at Tolka Park were Julian Brandt, a 48-cap Germany international who Jürgen Klopp once allegedly wanted to bring to Liverpool instead of Mo Salah, Daley Blind, who made over 100 appearances in four years with Man United, and Abdellah Ouazane, the highly rated 17-year-old who narrowly missed out on a move to Real Madrid last year.
Mika Godts, the exciting young prospect recently linked with PSG and who tormented the Premier Division outfit in the first leg last week, was among those held in reserve.
Given these circumstances, Russell was happy with how his side played in the 2-2 draw, and the outcome could have been even more favourable — Milan Mbeng’s second-half goal was controversially ruled out by VAR.
“I think you have to be really pleased with the performance tonight,” Russell said. “To be coming away from a 90-minute game disappointed not to go and win it… Really disappointed with the VAR decision. It looked like it was a legit goal.
“First half, our shape was good. We were a threat on the transitions. The first goal, I think it’s a foul on Milan in the lead-up to the corner that was given. I think obviously Ev’s [Evan Caffrey's] goal gives us life and energy in the first half.
“In the second half, we got our block up higher. We got a higher press. We went after Ajax and caused them problems. You could feel the energy in the ground. We were pushing. If we got that goal from VAR with 15 minutes to go, maybe we could have got that third and made it a lot nervier for them.”
Russell continued: “We spoke before the game. Could we get that first goal? I think after five or six minutes we break off a corner. Milan goes down the outside, puts it into the six-yard box for Kerr [McInroy], and he’s driving in. I think their defender gets an unbelievable block, and it goes out for a corner. We don’t even get the corner. That moment, if that goes in, the whole momentum swings in your favour.
“I have to say, the players stuck to the game plan. We looked a threat. We caused problems. We created chances. Obviously, Eddie [Beach] made one or two good saves. He got one or two blocks. We’re playing top-class opposition, but lads can be very proud of their performance today.”
The Shelbourne boss added he was “disappointed” that his men could not get the win against “one of the best teams in Europe” and expressed hope they could maintain that level of performance for the remainder of the Premier Division season.
One of the highlights was Seán Moore’s superbly taken second-half goal. Since joining from West Ham last year, the 20-year-old’s career at Shels has been stop-start due to injuries, but he has shown signs of coming good recently, having been left out of the Conference League’s league phase squad last year.
“I’ve such belief in that kid since I’ve come in. He got two goals in the game against Kalju at home, and all the games so far, he’s a real live wire. He’s a young player that probably hasn’t had great luck in terms of injuries and a run in the team here, but since I’ve come in here, he’s been available for all the games. He’s started a lot of games; he’s come on and made an impact. I think his ceiling is really high, and hopefully he can keep adding goals to his game from now until the end of the season.”
One player not involved on Thursday night was Paddy Barrett.
Russell cryptically stated that the club captain was not injured but “unavailable” for the game.
Meanwhile, Ajax coach Michel also praised the Dublin side, highlighting their “good mentality,” while criticising his own team.
“The most important thing is to go through the round, and we made it. But the second half wasn’t good enough. In my opinion, the team lacked energy in duels, which is very important, and we didn’t create enough possibilities. On both sides, we didn’t beat the marker, and when they defended with fight, man-to-man, we didn’t win our duels, so it was hard to create chances.
“The pitch was not the problem; our mentality was not good enough in duels. When you play for Ajax, you need to be at 100%.
“In the second half, I didn’t like what I saw. The problem was the team, not individual players. The team wasn’t in a good mentality; we didn’t attack with determination. We needed to make forward passes and face the opponent; the opponent should feel you want to attack them, and I didn’t see that from us in the second half.”
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