Shelbourne set out to steal a march

Glentoran v Shelbourne: It may be no great surprise that this evening's Champions League qualifier between Glentoran and Shelbourne has been widely billed as a "Battle of Ireland". The fear remains, though, the football will be overshadowed by events in the backstreets off the Newtownards Road tonight and that the "Battle of Belfast" will feature in more than one headline tomorrow morning.

A combination of the Uefa prohibition on standing at games and the refusal of the PSNI to allow one of the two stands at the Oval to be split between rival fans means less than 3,000 people inside Glentoran's large but dilapidated home this evening.

In the circumstances segregation within the stadium should be straightforward enough. It is on the way to and from the game that the visiting supporters will be hoping the goodwill generated by the cross-border Setanta Cup matches carries over for the rare venture into the heart of loyalist Belfast at the height of the marching season by an estimated 500 Southerners.

Within the home side's camp the hope too is Linfield's victory at Tolka Park on May 21st, when Shelbourne were expected to win, will be followed by another success for an Irish League side over the Eircom League champions. Glentoran players have cited that game and Derry's two recent defeats of the Dubliners as suggesting a place in the second round is not beyond them.

Given the way Shelbourne were physically outplayed in the matches, particularly by Linfield, Pat Fenlon has had good reason to be cautious in his approach to this game. However, when he spoke this week of Glentoran being a better footballing side than their bitter Belfast rivals one suspects he saw it as a good thing for his team ahead of this evening's first leg.

Fenlon is boosted by the return of Colin Hawkins who, along with Richie Baker, trained yesterday morning, and is therefore considered fit enough to start.

Jim Crawford is much less certain to feature from the outset, but the manager is at least in a position to return David Crawley to left back and Ollie Cahill to the wing. After that the biggest question is whether he will play both Jason Byrne and Glen Crowe up front or slip an extra man into midfield in the hope of containing the home side more effectively and either grabbing a goal on the break or taking them back to Dublin with the tie still very much in the balance.

There would appear to be good cause to vigorously pursue a victory as Roy Coyle's part-timers seek to cope with 90 minutes of competitive football for the first time in a couple of months.

The record of Northern sides in the Champions League qualifiers is abysmal in recent seasons and the fact two of Glentoran's most experienced defenders are on family holidays could point to a certain sense of resignation on the part of the Irish League winners. It certainly points to a surprisingly laid-back attitude on the manager's part.

Coyle, a vastly experienced former manager of Derry City and Linfield, insists this is not the case and is also at pains to play down the cross-border aspect of the occasion, but he is nevertheless additionally handicapped by a string of minor knocks including one that looks set to keep midfielder Gavin Melaugh out of the game. Chris Walker, Sean Ward and newly-signed striker Pater McCann have struggled to regain fitness over the past week or so.

Shelbourne have had their problems too, of course, and they do look a little more beatable than the last time the sides met a year ago. The experience gained last year, though, should give them an important edge, as should their superior fitness.

Georigias Kaznaferis, the Greek referee who was in charge of the Republic of Ireland's recent 2-2 draw with Israel, could have an impact on the game, but Shelbourne should have enough over the two legs to edge, if not quite march, into the next round where Steaua Bucharest await.

Shelbourne (probable): Delaney; Heary, Hawkins, Rogers, Crawley; Hoolahan, Ndo, S Byrne, Cahill; J Byrne, Crowe.