Shelbourne celebrate European qualification after victory over Northern Irish side Linfield. Photo:Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

By Adam Pigott

Shelbourne are set to kick off their UEFA Conference League campaign as they host Swedish side BK Häcken on Oct. 2.

The team from Drumcondra will play in the group stage of a European competition for the first time in the club’s history.

“We are so excited for it…we really want to kick off the campaign to with a good start”, said Shelbourne manager Joey O’Brien.

O’Brien, who brilliantly led Shelbourne to qualification after taking charge and assuming the responsibility of first team manager after the shock resignation of former manager Damien Duff.

Joey O’Brien, Shelbourne manager. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

“I think we need to relish the opportunity.. we have come so far to get to this stage so we need to show we belong among Europe’s elite,” added O’Brien.

However, Shelbourne will play the game not in their home ground Tolka Park, but will play in their cross-city rival Shamrock Rovers’ stadium Tallaght Stadium.

Tolka Park does not meet UEFA stadium standards and therefore all of the team’s home games will have to be played at a neutral venue.

According to UEFA, stadiums from the group stage up until the final, should be a Category 3-4 stadium, unfortunately Shelbourne’s home ground falls under Category 1-2.

Tolka Park, Photo:Shelsfc Instagram

The reigning League of Ireland champions have not made the best of starts to defending their crown and some fans believe this game in Europe comes at a good time and will help them to shy away from their up and down form to date.

“I think we need to put all our attention towards this European campaign now because it looks like we are not going to defend the league title, which is a real shame”, said Mya Breen, a Shelbourne season ticket holder.

Shelbourne sit in sixth place in the League of Ireland and after having been knocked out of the FAI Cup, European football looks like that is all there is left to play for, in what has been a rollercoaster season for the North Dublin side.

Shels host Waterford on Friday the 26th of September in the league as the reds look to build steam ahead of their clash with the Swedish side.

As for the opposition, BK Häcken, it is safe to say they are not having the best of seasons either. The Swedish side sit mid-table in Sweden’s Allsvenskan Premier Division, losing 4 of their last 5 games in the league and sit only 4 points above the relegation places.

However, the team did follow the same route as Shels towards qualification, having failed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. They, like Shelbourne, ended up in a European Conference League play-off match, where they faced Romanian side CFR 1907 Cluj.

Häcken won the tie comfortably, defeating the Romanian side 8-3 on aggregate over the two games. It is safe to say that the Swedish side can score goals for fun, which is a worry for a Shelbourne side that have been leaking goals lately.

Tunisian forward, Amor Layouni, is the player to look out for on the opposition side. Layouni has 16 goal contributions in 25 matches in all competitions this season.

Amor Layouni Photo: bkhackenofcl Instagram

The forward broke a record when he became the first player ever in a European Competition to register 5 assists in just one match during Häcken’s 7-2 play off victory against CFR 1907 Cluj.

The match is set to be an enthralling clash in which Shelbourne will be looking to kick off their European campaign with a victory.

Kick-off is at 8 p.m, and the match will be shown live on TNT Sports. Controversially, no Irish broadcaster has confirmed whether or not they will televise the game.