Irish soccer fans will pin their hopes of European glory on Shelbourne tonight as the Dublin club battles for a place in the history books of the Champions League.
A 1-0 victory against Croatian side Hajduk Split would see Shels line up a lucrative tie with Spanish giants Deportivo La Coruna, going further than any Irish side has managed before.
After being crowned Eircom League of Ireland winners in 2002 and runners up last year, Shels manager Pat Fenlon is aiming for the third round of the Champions League and a place in the annals of European club football.
"I am confident because I can look around at the quality we have available to us," Mr Fenlon said. "This team is technically very good and it never knows when it is beaten which is something that I think was lacking for the Shelbourne teams I played with.
"Even if we go a goal behind I still think we can win it -to be honest I think we'll need to score twice to win the game anyway - but it is important that we don't go out gung ho, looking for an early goal, because then we could be picked off."
Club officials are hoping 6,500 fans will cram into the tight ground in the north of the city with thousands more expected to tune into the live broadcast on Network 2 from 7pm.
And FAI chief executive Fran Rooney called on soccer fans from across the city to come and support the Shels as they take on the more experienced Croatians.
"I'm asking for all fans to come out, I'm asking for Ireland fans to come out," said Rooney.
"It is a very important game and we would like to see the atmosphere we create at Lansdowne Road at Tolka Park, and I want the fans to come and see the quality of football that we can provide."
Rooney said the switch to summer football had benefited Irish clubs and Shels' success was proof of this.
"It is a tough match but the performance away gives them some optimism ahead of the game," he said. "I think they can go through, what we have seen in the performance of Cork and Shels is that we have become very professional.
"We have seen two things, the fact that teams have been playing summer football and playing with more confidence and the full time training is also a factor."
Hajduk landed in the capital with the same line-up that won three-two in Split last week, but with only one point from their opening two League games, they are in need of a good result to boost their confidence.
Shelbourne's record goes against them, however, as they have failed to win a home European tie in their last 12 matches, going back to 1993 when they beat Ukrainian side Karpaty Lvov 3-1.
Gardai warned motorists to expect delays around the ground and that Richmond Road between Gracepark Road and Upper Drumcondra Road will be closed from 6pm.