Stephen Geoghegan's rapid recovery from a recent bout of pneumonia has given Shelbourne manager Damien Richardson a boost ahead of this evening's European Cup Winners' Cup match against Scottish Premier Division side Kilmarnock. The striker is the latest of several key squad members to prove their fitness in the build-up to the match. Along with Greg Costello, Tony McCarthy, Alan Gough and Dave Campbell, the former Shamrock Rovers man has done enough in recent days to stake a claim to a place in the starting line-up. Of the panel that travelled to Scotland on Tuesday morning, only Brian Flood now appears to be out of the reckoning.
"Stephen has made really remarkable progress since starting back to training," said Richardson yesterday. "It's been fantastic to see how sharp he's become already, but Brian's knee swelled up again in training after we arrived here and I don't think he'll be involved now."
Richardson has yet to announce which formation he will employ. Des Baker is certain to start up front, but is yet to discover whether he will have a striking partner or not. Geoghegan now seems likely to figure at some point, but despite coming through training well, the early part of his evening may well be spent on the bench.
Last weekend's win over Home Farm was, says Richardson, a considerable bonus in the build-up to tonight's encounter, but the Shelbourne manager is fully aware that the Scottish club is likely to provide considerably tougher opposition than the Dubliners have come across so far in their predominantly non-competitive pre-season build-up.
"They're a good side with quality up front and at the back. They work very hard and they're well organised, so they'll be hard to play against, but we'll be hoping to make an impression.
"A draw would certainly be a very good result for us, but we really don't have either the team or the mentality to sit back and soak up a lot of pressure, so that's not what we'll be setting out to do. In the likes of Des Baker, Tony Sheridan, Pascal Vaudequin, Mark Rutherford and Pat Fenlon, we have some firepower of our own and we'll be looking to use that to the best effect."
The Irish Cup holders will certainly have to be at their best to cope with Kilmarnock, who, like Richardson's outfit, are a neat passing side who like to attack wide down the wings. Manager Bobby Williamson has gradually strengthened the side since taking over in the course of last season and his team look solid throughout, even if the defence appears to be a little short on pace.
Captain Ray Montgomerie and his defensive partner Kevin McGowne are vastly experienced, but at 36-years-old, Montgomerie, in particular, may find Baker, who has excelled for Shelbourne in the pre-season, quite a handful around the area.
Behind those two, however, Kilmarnock have Yugoslavian international goalkeeper Dragoje Lekovic, formerly of Red Star Belgrade where he played Champions' League football back in the 1991-92 season.
The home side's strikers, Paul Wright and Jim McIntyre, are both capable players, but it is Dave Bagan and Alec Burke out on the wings who are the most important instruments of Williamson's tactical approach.
"They're good all right," says Richardson, who watched the team beat East Fife 2-0 in the Scottish League Cup on Saturday. "They're impressive coming forward, but they drop back and work hard at defending when it's needed as well."
Kilmarnock are likely to be unchanged from Saturday, meaning that former Everton and Chelsea winger Pat Nevin will start the game on the bench. Remarkably, if he does play, it will be the former Scottish international's first-ever outing in a European club game.
During his Rangers days, Williamson played only once in Europe, a game the team lost, and the Kilmarnock manager admits that: "It never worked out for me, I know how that feels, and that's why I'm telling the lads to go out there and make the most of it when they have the chance."
Club chairman Ronnie Hamilton, meanwhile, has somewhat happier memories of his own involvement at this level, having played in the Kilmarnock team of 1964 which staged an astonishing comeback against leading German side Eintracht Frankfurt.
Down 3-0 from the first leg, Kilmarnock fell a further goal behind in the opening minutes of the tie at Rugby Park, but fought back to win 5-1 on the night and go through. "There was probably about 20,000 there that night, but it felt more like 160,000," said Hamilton yesterday. "Afterwards there was a buzz around the town for weeks and that's the sort of thing the players have got to start trying to re-create in this match."
Shelbourne, meanwhile, will be aiming to ensure that the tie is still up for grabs when the Scots come to Ireland in two weeks' time and, given Richardson's aversion to the defensive game, the match should prove to be highly entertaining.
After the disappointment of Bohemians' and Derry's outings in Europe this season, Shelbourne will also be hoping to salvage something for the National League, which faces a further drop in its already dismal international ranking if our three representatives in the main competitions go out without winning a round.
The plans of the new board at Drogheda United for the forthcoming season were yesterday endorsed by National League officials at a meeting in Merrion Square. The club presented a business plan, budget and proposed club structure at the meeting and were officially told that they could proceed with their Premier Division campaign. Manager Martin Lawlor now expects to have a panel of 13 to 14 players signed up by this evening.
Longford Town's meeting with the League, meanwhile, has been put back until Monday week.
