2021 Season Preview: Shelbourne

Manager: Ian Morris

Stadium: Tolka Park 

Players in:

Michael Barker (Bohemians), John Ross Wilson (Bray Wanderers), Glen McCauley (Bohemians), JJ Lunney (Bohemians), Michael O’Connor (Ross County), Ally Gilchrist (Derry City), Brendan Clarke (St Patricks Athletic), Kevin O’Connor (Cork City), Yoyo Mahdy (UCD), Gerardo Bruno, Maxim Kouogun (Harrogate Town). 

Players out:

Oscar Brennan (Waterford), Daniel Byrne (Warrenpoint), Aidan Friel (Athlone Town), Daniel O’Reilly (Drogheda United), Colin McCabe (Drogheda United), Ciarán Kilduff, Gary Deegan (Drogheda United), Jaza Kabia (Livingston), Lorcan Fitzgerald, Aaron Dobbs (Longford Town), Karl Moore, Karl Sheppard (retired), Mark Byrne (Bray Wanderers).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Kevin O’Connor

Kevin O’Connor joins Shelbourne for the 2021 season, following Cork City’s relegation. The 25-year-old, Enniscorthy native has plenty of experience, having won the FAI Cup in 2016 and the League in 2017 with the Leesiders. 

First choice left back Lorcan Fitzgerald has left the club and so it is expected that O’Connor will slot in there, although he can also be deployed at midfield. He also has experience in the First Division with Waterford, and so is a perfect for Shels, in their quest to return to the Premier Division at the first time of asking. 

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Yoyo Mahdy

There is great excitement among the Shelbourne faithful about the arrival of Yoyo Mahdy. The 22-year-old knows all about scoring in the First Division, having scored 23 goals in 43 appearances for UCD. Shelbourne fought off competition from some Premier Division sides and Mahdy will be keen to prove his decision was the correct one. 

Shelbourne have lost some experienced attacking players including Karl Sheppard (retired), Ciarán Kilduff (Left the club) and Aaron Dobbs (Longford). These departures could pave the way for Mahdy to become a very important player for Shelbourne this season. 

How they did last season:

League: Their first season back in the Premier Division started promisingly, as they recorded a 1-0 win away to Cork City in their opening game. They also recorded an impressive win over their Dublin rivals St Patricks Athletic, leaving them on six points after four games. 

They did lose to Bohemians and Dundalk, but they put in some strong performances, particularly in the second half of the Dundalk game, and looked like they would comfortably avoid the relegation zone, and possibly even push for a comfortable mid-table finish.

However, they went on a downward spiral post Covid. They restarted their season with a 1-0 defeat to Waterford, and from here things seemed to get worse. They recorded only three wins in their remaining 16 games. 

They did win two out of their final three games, however it was not enough to steer them clear of the relegation/promotion game. 

They faced Longford town in that game, and a 54th minute Rob Manley was enough for Longford to claim victory, relegating Shels back to the First Division after just one season. 

FAI Cup: Their FAI cup journey began with a 5-2 victory against Galway in August. A brace from Dayle Rooney and goals from Ryan Brennan, Ciaran Kilduff and Aaron Dobbs comfortably booked their place in the last 16. 

However, a shock result in the quarter finals saw them crash out to Athlone Town, who subsequently went on and lost 11-0 to Dundalk in the semi-final. 

What to expect this season:

Anything other than promotion for Shels will be seen as a disappointment. They were left wondering what could have been last season, and they certainly do not want to experience it again. They have a squad more than capable of winning the league and are hot favourites to go straight back up.

They have stuck with Ian Morris in order to maintain consistency amongst the management team. In his first full season as manager in 2019, he brought topflight football back to Tolka Park, and so is seen as the best contender to do it again. 

However, while they are red hot favourites to go straight back up, they will be aware of the threat of the likes of Galway, UCD and Cork City, who have all strengthened ahead of the new season. 

As mentioned above, Shels have lost a number of key men in the off-season but despite these losses, they are still the bookies favourite, and rightly so. They have a strong squad, including an exiting attacking force which will cause problems to any side in the First Division. They have the potential to bounce straight back up and building some early momentum will be key to this.

Title Odds: 5/4. 

First game: Galway United (away)

2021 Season Preview: Athlone Town https://t.co/U2C2mVQFlYpic.twitter.com/tjGjaQmPHN

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) March 23, 2021