2022 Season Preview: Shelbourne

Manager: Damien Duff

Stadium: Tolka Park

Players In: Aodh Dervin (Longford Town), Conor Kane (Drogheda United), Sean Boyd (Finn Harps), Mark Coyle (Finn Harps), Daniel Hawkins (Finn Harps), Shane Griffin (St Patrick’s Athletic), Jack Moylan (Bohemians), Aaron O’Driscoll (Mansfield Town), Lewis Webb (Swansea City – loan), Sean McSweeney (Treaty United), Dan Carr (Welling United), Jordan McEneff (Arsenal – loan), Adam Thomas (Oakleigh Cannons).

Players out: Jack Brady (Treaty United), Ryan Brennan (Drogheda United), Dayle Rooney (Drogheda United), Ally Gilchrist (Cork City), Georgie Poynton (Drogheda United), Michael O’Connor (Glentoran), Denzil Fernandes (Treaty United), Yassine En-Neyah (Waterford), Yoyo Mahdy (Finn Harps), Eric Molloy (Longford Town), Alex Nolan (UCD).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Luke Byrne

The Reds defender and club captain will be crucial for Shelbourne this season.

The former Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers centre back has plenty of Premier Division experience and he will need to use all of it if Shels are to enjoy a better season than their last foray in the top flight in 2020.

The 28-year-old boasts Europa League experience during his time at Tallaght Stadium.

Shels have seen a massive turnaround of players with eleven players leaving Tolka while twelve players have come in meaning we could see a very different starting XI when they welcome FAI Cup holders St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday night.

The experience of Byrne who has been with the club since 2018 will be key throughout the season and his partnership with former Longford Town defender Aaron O’Driscoll will be important.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Jack Moylan

Bohs willingness to offload 20-year-old Jack Moylan was seen as a surprise by many after he impressed during a loan spell with First Division outfit Wexford.

The attacking midfielder caught the eye scoring seven goals in 14 appearances in the south-east.

Shels boss Damien Duff described the highly rated midfielder as ‘the most exciting player in the First Division last year’.

With the transfer of Ross Tierney to Motherwell, it is surprising that Moylan wasn’t seen as the man to fill that void at Dalymount having broken into the first team earlier last season.

Duff has brought numerous high-profile signings to Tolka Park with a preference on younger players while his predecessor Ian Morris opted for experience when Shels last played Premier Division football.

Looking through Shelbourne’s squad it remains to be seen whether they have an out and out goal scorer heading into the top flight this year so they will be relying on Moylan to provide goals and assists from midfield this term.

How they did last season:

First Division: 1st

Shelbourne cruised to the First Division and an immediate return to the Premier Division, losing just two of their 27 games last season.

A 1-0 win over Treaty United last October saw them get promoted at the first time of asking.

Ian Morris remained with the club after their relegation from the Premier Division in 2020 but parted ways with the Reds during the winter.

Shels’ only two league defeats came away to Galway United and Cobh Ramblers with the latter coming after they had secured promotion.

The Tolka Park outfit drew their first two games against Galway and Bray Wanderers before kickstarting their campaign with a hat trick of wins in April.

After 18 games without defeat Shelbourne finally fell to Galway but they still won the division at a canter.

FAI Cup: First-round

Shelbourne fell to a 2-0 defeat to fellow promoted side UCD at the UCD Bowl. Second-half strikes from First Division top scorer Colm Whelan and Harvey O’Brien brought Shels’ cup run to an abrupt halt.

What to expect this season:

Damien Duff joined the “giants” as manager to much fanfare and he has overseen a huge turnaround in the playing staff.

The two-time Premier League winner previously worked on Stephen Kenny’s coaching staff before he walked away in the aftermath of the investigations into a motivational video shown by Kenny in the dressing room before the Republic of Ireland played England in a friendly at Wembley.

While Ian Morris favoured experience two years ago, Duff seems to be planning for the long term, with a preference on young players coming through the door at Tolka.

The arrival of Duff is the biggest storyline of the season and has brought big sponsorship deals to the club and a lot of optimism which has seen record season ticket sales for Shels.

With a truncated season in 2020 it feels like their last stint in the Premier Division never got off the ground and there is a feeling of the unknown heading into the 2022 campaign with Duff at the helm.

They have made some shrewd signings like Jack Moylan, Aaron O’Driscoll, Aodh Dervin, Mark Coyle, Shane Griffin and Conor Kane and they will look to play a possession style of football, possibly modelled on the way Shamrock Rovers play after Duff served some time on Stephen Bradley’s coaching staff.

Shels need a quick start to avoid any relegation worries and to keep Duff content.

First game: Shelbourne welcome FAI Cup holders and league runners-up St Patrick’s Athletic to Tolka Park on Friday, February 18 with kick-off at 7.45pm.

Niamh Fahey: ‘I’ve managed to make 99 caps so far but the biggest thing is not being at a major tournament, and that’s something that I want to happen’ https://t.co/U9yIaPkJLypic.twitter.com/GOrTdZ87sm

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) February 16, 2022