Fenlon frustrated at Shels' fixture pile-up
Shelbourne boss Pat Fenlon has hit out at the tight fixture schedule which has forced him to postpone preparations for next week’s Champions League clash with Steaua Bucharest.
Fenlon’s men booked a two-legged date with the former European champions by completing a thumping 6-2 aggregate victory over Glentoran with a 4-1 second leg win at Tolka Park last night.
But before Steaua visit Dublin next Wednesday night Fenlon has to raise his team for their eircom League trip to Bray Wanderers tomorrow night.
Fenlon believes his team ought to receive more breathing space as they seek to build their league’s profile with another successful Champions League campaign.
Fenlon said: “People in the league pat you back but they stick you in the back at the same time – but we’ll get on with it like we had to last year.”
Fenlon’s men, who have been boosted by the completion of a deal for former Middlesbrough player Curtis Fleming, aim to repeat last year’s heroics when victories over Reykjavik and Hajduk Split took them to the brink of the group stages.
Shels will be boosted by the blossoming front partnership between Jason Byrne and Glen Crowe, who scored five of the team’s six goals against Glentoran and are confident of more success.
Byrne built on his first ever Champions League goals in Dublin last week with another brace last night and said: “Last year was a learning curve for me and I didn’t have that experience.
“Now I’ve put my experience of last year into this year and it was good enough to score goals in the Champions League so I am pleased.”
Of his partnership with Crowe, which came in for some criticism but has now yielded 18 goals so far this season, Byrne added: “Obviously it takes a bit of time to get going but now we are getting it together and starting to get goals.”
Defeated Glentoran boss Roy Coyle called on the Northern Ireland Football Association to consider following the Republic’s lead and considering a switch to summer football.
The newly-scheduled eircom League has proved a resounding success with the benefits shown in Shelbourne’s European success last season.
Coyle said: “I’ve said for a long time about summer football in the north, why not try it and see if it works?
“But the one thing you have to do if you’re going to think about producing summer football is to work on the pitches.
“There are an awful lot of pitches that need an awful lot of work in the north before we can begin to address that issue.”
