Shelbourne

Match report

Shelbourne and Ajax shared the points at Tolka Park on Wednesday evening in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. The visitors dominated possession and territory, but the hosts refused to fold. The final whistle brought a 2:2 draw that neither side quite owned.

And here's the thing about the opening exchanges. Julian Brandt gave Ajax the lead in the twentieth minute before Rodrigo Freitas levelled three minutes later. Aaron Gaaei then restored Shella's advantage just before the break. By then the match had settled into something more measured.

The turning point came at the half-hour mark rather than the end. Milan Mbeng thought he had restored Shella's lead at sixty-five minutes, but the goal was cancelled for offside. The stadium fell silent as the officials reviewed. That decision shifted the momentum without either side realising it straight away.

Shelbourne had the deeper squad in terms of patience, and that showed. Samuel Moore scored the equaliser in the eighty-fifth minute after a period where the visitors never quite found their rhythm. The hosts gave away too many cheap fouls but stayed compact. Things came to a head when the clock ran down.

Statistics tell a different story from the result. Ajax held seventy-two percent possession and registered one hundred and forty attacks against fifty-one. They created three big chances to Shella's zero, yet the shot accuracy figures sit at thirty-seven percent and forty-two percent respectively. The numbers suggest Ajax had everything but the finishing edge.

The result leaves Shelbourne with something to build on. They have nothing to lose in these qualifiers and showed character against a superior side. Ajax advance but the margin feels narrow for a team with greater resources.

Prepared from match data

Key numbers

Possession, % 28.00 – 72

Shots on target 5 – 7

Shots off target 5 – 6

Expected goals 0.69 – 1.13

⚽ 20' J. Brandt — Goal 🟨 23' Aaron Bouwman — Yellow card ⚽ 24' R. Freitas — Goal 🟨 25' Marcos Leonardo — Yellow card 🟨 27' Rodrigo Freitas — Yellow card ⚽ 39' A. Gaaei — Goal ⇄ 46' D. Blind — Substitution ⇄ 57' J. Brandt — Substitution ⇄ 57' Marcos Leonardo — Substitution ⇄ 60' S. Bone — Substitution 65' M. Mbeng — var_goal_cancelled_-_offside 65' Milan Mbeng — var_goal_cancelled ⇄ 69' O. Wijndal — Substitution ⇄ 70' M. Carrizo — Substitution 🟨 70' Jonathan Lunney — Yellow card ⇄ 72' J. Lunney — Substitution ⇄ 72' R. Freitas — Substitution 🟨 74' James Roche — Yellow card 🟨 75' J. Roche — Yellow card ⇄ 81' M. Mbeng — Substitution ⇄ 81' J. Norris — Substitution ⚽ 85' S. Moore — Goal 🟨 90+2' S. Gannon — Yellow card

Match events

20' 0:1 Ajax Goal J. Brandt assist: J. Mokio
23' 0:1 Ajax Yellow card Aaron Bouwman
24' 1:1 Shelbourne Goal R. Freitas assist: E. Caffrey
25' 1:1 Ajax Yellow card Marcos Leonardo
27' 1:1 Shelbourne Yellow card Rodrigo Freitas
39' 1:2 Ajax Goal A. Gaaei
46' 1:2 Ajax Substitution D. Blind off: Y. Baas
57' 1:2 Ajax Substitution J. Brandt off: A. Ouazane
57' 1:2 Ajax Substitution Marcos Leonardo off: T. Arokodare
60' 1:2 Shelbourne Substitution S. Bone off: S. Gannon
65' 1:2 Shelbourne var_goal_cancelled_-_offside M. Mbeng
65' 1:2 Shelbourne var_goal_cancelled Milan Mbeng
69' 1:2 Ajax Substitution O. Wijndal off: Caio Henrique
70' 1:2 Ajax Substitution M. Carrizo off: D. Janse
70' 1:2 Shelbourne Yellow card Jonathan Lunney
72' 1:2 Shelbourne Substitution J. Lunney off: J. Roche
72' 1:2 Shelbourne Substitution R. Freitas off: D. Ring
74' 1:2 Shelbourne Yellow card James Roche
75' 1:2 Shelbourne Yellow card J. Roche
81' 1:2 Shelbourne Substitution M. Mbeng off: S. Moore
81' 1:2 Shelbourne Substitution J. Norris off: W. Jarvis
85' 2:2 Shelbourne Goal S. Moore assist: E. Caffrey
90+2' 2:2 Shelbourne Yellow card S. Gannon

Statistics

28.00 Possession, % 72

5 Shots on target 7

5 Shots off target 6

0.69 Expected goals 1.13

0 Big chances 3

51 Attacks 140

4 Corners 11

10 Fouls 12

12 Free kicks 10

6 Offsides 0

4 Yellow cards 2

0 Red cards 0

7 Goal kicks 9

10 Throw-ins 15

All statistics

8/1747% Aerial duels 9/1753%

33 Backward passes 115

2 Blocked shots 6

19 Clearances 13

2/825% Crosses 7/2232%

6/1833% Dribbles 7/1450%

0.47 Expected assists 1.52

53 Failed passes 57

5 Goalkeeper saves 3

9 Interceptions 6

9 Key passes 16

24/4751% Long passes 26/3770%

44 Passes into the final third 176

115 Passes in the opposition half 441

157 Passes in own half 276

0.42 Shot accuracy 0.37

5 Shots from outside the box 10

7 Shots inside the box 9

10/1856% Tackles 13/2065%

264 Total passes 695

Line-ups

Starting XI
#	Player	number
19	Eddie Beach	19
4	Kameron Malcolm Ledwidge	4
15	Samuel Bone	15
16	Odhran Casey	16
6	Jonathan Lunney	6
18	James Barry Norris	18
23	Kerr Macroy	23
25	Milen Mbeng	25
27	Evan Caffrey	27
17	Daniel Kelly	17
20	R. Freitas	20

Substitutes
#	Player	number
13	Murray Johnson	13
2	Seán Gannon	2
22	Sean Moore	22
55	James Roche	55
36	Will Jarvis	36
60	Killian Ryan	60
44	Daniel Ring	44
56	Joey Ikala Wuna	56

Show full squad

Ajax

Starting XI
#	Player	number
26	Maarten Paes	26
3	Anton Gaaei	3
5	Owen Wijndal	5
17	Daley Blind	17
30	Aaron Bauman	30
6	Youri Pieter Regeer	6
8	Julian Brandt	8
24	J. Mokio	24
7	Maher Carriso	7
20	Oliver Valaker Edvardsen	20
38	Marcos Leonardo	38

Substitutes
#	Player	number
1	Marc-André ter Stegen	1
22	Joeri Herckens	22
2	Lucas Oliveira Rosa	2
12	Caio Henrique Oliveira Silva	12
15	Youri Baas	15
36	Dis Yansen	36
10	Oscar Gloukh	10
18	Davy Klaassen	18
68	A. Ouazane	68
9	Kasper Dolberg Rasmussen	9
11	Mika Marcel Godts	11
99	Tolu Arokodare	99