A full house at Tolka Park on a cool summer evening watched a compelling UEFA Champions League, second qualifying round first leg encounter between Eircom League champions Shelbourne and former European Cup winners Steaua Bucharest.

The match ended scoreless and Shelbourne will face a daunting task when they travel to the Romanian capital for the second leg on Wednesday evening next. If Shelbourne can display the same level of discipline and resilience they showed in the second half of this first leg, then they may yet achieve their ambition to at least match their performance of last season.

Shelbourne had just the better of what was largely an uneventful first half and created a number of half chances without really threatening to score. The first chance of the evening fell to the visitors after seven minutes when a left wing cross was delivered into the penalty area for the central striker who shot tamely from close range and goalkeeper, Dean Delaney dealt competently with the effort.

A series of long range shots from Glen Crowe, Alan Moore and Jason Byrne did not really trouble the Romanian goalkeeper but the best opportunity fell to Byrne who failed to connect with a lovely cross delivered low across the penalty area by skipper Owen Heary on thirty five minutes.

The second half opened with an early chance for Steaua but again the shot lacked the power to trouble Delaney who saved comfortably. In contrast to the first half, the visitors retained possession of the ball for long stretches of play but they failed to penetrate a resolute Shelbourne defence, which remained solid throughout the half.

While not seriously troubled, it was perhaps a reflection of the dominance of possession enjoyed by the Romanian team that obliged Shelbourne manager, Pat Fenlon, to introduce defensive substitutes, Curtis Fleming and Jamie Harris for the strike partnership of Byrne and Crowe with some fifteen minutes of the match remaining.

Following the match, Shelbourne midfield player, Ollie Cahill expressed himself happy with the draw and in particular the fact that they had kept a clean sheet in this home leg. Shelbourne will travel to Bucharest next week knowing that a scoring draw will ensure their passage to the next round and in the light of their sterling achievements of last season, that possibility can not be entirely discounted.