WHEN CRYSTAL PALACE scored their third goal of the game in the 37th minute, Shelbourne boss Joey O’Brien turned away from the pitch and looked towards the heavens.
The rain was still falling as he walked to the bench, as it had all day in Dublin, and O’Brien was soaked to the bone.
He clasped his hand to his face, dragged his palm from his forehead down to his chin and ran it down his neck, revealing a grimace of hopelessness.
He was clearing the rain water from his face and probably felt like he needed to cleanse because Palace were running amok.
Looking down at him from the main stand at Tallaght Stadium, just above Shels’ dugout, was Damien Duff.
O’Brien has done a tremendous job since stepping up when his predecessor decided the time was right to resign in late June.
O’Brien is the one who steadied the ship and brought it to this course in the league phase of the Conference League.
There will be no stunning conclusion and their exit is confirmed. They are now 34th of 26 teams with Shamrock Rovers, beaten in Iceland earlier in the evening, a place below them.
In the four games prior to this one there has been great regret at the manner in which points were left behind by Shels.
This wasn’t one of them – even if they will look back at important moments in each of the three goals in which they could have done better.
Maybe Paddy Barrett could have cut out Eddie Nketiah’s square ball for Christantus Uche’s opener on 11 minutes.
If only Evan Caffrey’s cushioned header from a diagonal pass was not missplaced and Jack Henry-Francis had continued to track the run of Nketiah for his tap in on 25 minutes.
Details that make a difference, even if it never really felt like they were truly fatal for the hopes.
That is because Palace, the side currently fourth in the Premier League, simply ran riot throughout the first half and Yeremy Pino’s goal to make it 3-0 highlighted the gulf in class.
The Spanish international had received a sharp pass from Japan’s Daichi Kamada – both players will expect to be in their country’s World Cup squads next summer – just beyond the centre circle.
Pino turned and ran before the Shels defence had time to react. Kameron Ledwidge was the first to approach but for some reason opted not to engage near the edge of the box despite getting close enough.
Pino slipped by him, had already burst away from Kerr McInroy, and created the angle just inside the box to be able to fire a low shot with his right foot beyond Wessel Speel who dove forlornly to his right.
Just shy of 2,000 travelling Palace fans celebrated wildly and hailed Pino the Spanish maestro – a fine vintage indeed.
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The beauty of this competition is that it brings clubs who usually operate in completely different stratospheres into the same orbit.
Palace, though, wouldn’t have even expected to be in the third-tier club tournament after winning last season’s FA Cup.
Only for a Uefa decision on multi-club ownership did they find themselves in the Conference League, with Nottingham Forest taking their place in the Europa League.
That is a trophy Palace boss Oliver Glasner won while in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, and such is his calibre as a coach his name will surely be in the mix when bigger opportunties no doubt arise soon.
Winning this tournament will bolster his CV further and Palace will have serious designs on doing so.
For Shels, just scoring a goal at this stage would prove a consolation their fans would celebrate, possibly even cherish. Another blank here means it’s now eight hours of European action without a goal and they head to Celje next week for their final game of this season’s competition looking to avoid that unwanted milestone.
Palace’s first goal was the sort a team of their calibre would expect to produce against such opposition.
A punchy pass out from the back by Marc Guehi was moved swiftly on by a slick first-time pass on the half turn by Kamada that set Nketiah away down the left. His pass across for Uche went through Barrett’s legs and the finish from eight yards was routine.
So was Palace’s job from that point, and they were helped by some sloppy Shels play for the second when Caffrey headed loosely back into the middle and allowed Pino break. His slide rule pass for Uche was perfect, the striker’s scooped finish hit the post and Nketiah had an easy tap in.
Henry-Francis had been tracking the forward and was by his side until the moment the ball hit the post. He stopped his run and the former Arsenal man anticipated the opportunity.
He took it, as did Pino before the break when he made it 3-0.
The Spainard was taken off at half-time, along with Kamada and England international Adam Wharton.
The same level of attacking threat went with it, although substitute Romain Esse did see a shot hit both posts on 72 minutes.
Palace host Manchester City on Sunday and go to within two points off Pep Guardiola’s side with a win. Perhaps that is why Palace players had their Christmas party on Monday rather than hanging around to enjoy the rest of their night in Dublin.
So with the game won and not much of note happening on the pitch, the Palace fans decided to spend the last 10 minutes serenading Glasner with a song to the tune of Last Christmas by Wham!
Well, after that first-half goal blitz this was more like Wham! Bam! Thank You, Ma’am!
Shelbourne: Wessel Speel; Milan Mbeng (Lewis Temple 81), Mark Coyle (captain) (Sean Gannon 75), Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge (Tyreke Wilson 59), Evan Caffrey; Jack Henry-Francis, Kerr McInroy, Harry Wood (Ellis Chapman 81); John Martin (Daniel Kelly 59), Sean Boyd.
Crystal Palace: Walter Benitez; Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi (captain); Justin Devenny (Ben Casey 82), Adam Wharton (Jefferson Lerma HT), Daichi Kamada (Will Hughes HT), Borna Sosa; Eddie Nketiah (Nathaniel Clyne 67), Christantus Uche, Yeremy Pino (Romain Esse HT).
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Crystal Palace a class above with first-half blitz to beat Shelbourne 3-0
Shelbourne 0
Crystal Palace 3
WHEN CRYSTAL PALACE scored their third goal of the game in the 37th minute, Shelbourne boss Joey O’Brien turned away from the pitch and looked towards the heavens.
The rain was still falling as he walked to the bench, as it had all day in Dublin, and O’Brien was soaked to the bone.
He clasped his hand to his face, dragged his palm from his forehead down to his chin and ran it down his neck, revealing a grimace of hopelessness.
He was clearing the rain water from his face and probably felt like he needed to cleanse because Palace were running amok.
Looking down at him from the main stand at Tallaght Stadium, just above Shels’ dugout, was Damien Duff.
O’Brien has done a tremendous job since stepping up when his predecessor decided the time was right to resign in late June.
O’Brien is the one who steadied the ship and brought it to this course in the league phase of the Conference League.
There will be no stunning conclusion and their exit is confirmed. They are now 34th of 26 teams with Shamrock Rovers, beaten in Iceland earlier in the evening, a place below them.
In the four games prior to this one there has been great regret at the manner in which points were left behind by Shels.
This wasn’t one of them – even if they will look back at important moments in each of the three goals in which they could have done better.
Maybe Paddy Barrett could have cut out Eddie Nketiah’s square ball for Christantus Uche’s opener on 11 minutes.
If only Evan Caffrey’s cushioned header from a diagonal pass was not missplaced and Jack Henry-Francis had continued to track the run of Nketiah for his tap in on 25 minutes.
Details that make a difference, even if it never really felt like they were truly fatal for the hopes.
That is because Palace, the side currently fourth in the Premier League, simply ran riot throughout the first half and Yeremy Pino’s goal to make it 3-0 highlighted the gulf in class.
The Spanish international had received a sharp pass from Japan’s Daichi Kamada – both players will expect to be in their country’s World Cup squads next summer – just beyond the centre circle.
Pino turned and ran before the Shels defence had time to react. Kameron Ledwidge was the first to approach but for some reason opted not to engage near the edge of the box despite getting close enough.
Pino slipped by him, had already burst away from Kerr McInroy, and created the angle just inside the box to be able to fire a low shot with his right foot beyond Wessel Speel who dove forlornly to his right.
Just shy of 2,000 travelling Palace fans celebrated wildly and hailed Pino the Spanish maestro – a fine vintage indeed.
The beauty of this competition is that it brings clubs who usually operate in completely different stratospheres into the same orbit.
Palace, though, wouldn’t have even expected to be in the third-tier club tournament after winning last season’s FA Cup.
Only for a Uefa decision on multi-club ownership did they find themselves in the Conference League, with Nottingham Forest taking their place in the Europa League.
That is a trophy Palace boss Oliver Glasner won while in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, and such is his calibre as a coach his name will surely be in the mix when bigger opportunties no doubt arise soon.
Winning this tournament will bolster his CV further and Palace will have serious designs on doing so.
For Shels, just scoring a goal at this stage would prove a consolation their fans would celebrate, possibly even cherish. Another blank here means it’s now eight hours of European action without a goal and they head to Celje next week for their final game of this season’s competition looking to avoid that unwanted milestone.
Palace’s first goal was the sort a team of their calibre would expect to produce against such opposition.
A punchy pass out from the back by Marc Guehi was moved swiftly on by a slick first-time pass on the half turn by Kamada that set Nketiah away down the left. His pass across for Uche went through Barrett’s legs and the finish from eight yards was routine.
So was Palace’s job from that point, and they were helped by some sloppy Shels play for the second when Caffrey headed loosely back into the middle and allowed Pino break. His slide rule pass for Uche was perfect, the striker’s scooped finish hit the post and Nketiah had an easy tap in.
Henry-Francis had been tracking the forward and was by his side until the moment the ball hit the post. He stopped his run and the former Arsenal man anticipated the opportunity.
He took it, as did Pino before the break when he made it 3-0.
The Spainard was taken off at half-time, along with Kamada and England international Adam Wharton.
The same level of attacking threat went with it, although substitute Romain Esse did see a shot hit both posts on 72 minutes.
Palace host Manchester City on Sunday and go to within two points off Pep Guardiola’s side with a win. Perhaps that is why Palace players had their Christmas party on Monday rather than hanging around to enjoy the rest of their night in Dublin.
So with the game won and not much of note happening on the pitch, the Palace fans decided to spend the last 10 minutes serenading Glasner with a song to the tune of Last Christmas by Wham!
Well, after that first-half goal blitz this was more like Wham! Bam! Thank You, Ma’am!
Shelbourne: Wessel Speel; Milan Mbeng (Lewis Temple 81), Mark Coyle (captain) (Sean Gannon 75), Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge (Tyreke Wilson 59), Evan Caffrey; Jack Henry-Francis, Kerr McInroy, Harry Wood (Ellis Chapman 81); John Martin (Daniel Kelly 59), Sean Boyd.
Crystal Palace: Walter Benitez; Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi (captain); Justin Devenny (Ben Casey 82), Adam Wharton (Jefferson Lerma HT), Daichi Kamada (Will Hughes HT), Borna Sosa; Eddie Nketiah (Nathaniel Clyne 67), Christantus Uche, Yeremy Pino (Romain Esse HT).
Referee: Martin Matosa (Svn)
Attendance: 10,143
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