Robert Gatt watches Shelbourne squander lead three times

Shelbourne's stuttering start to the Premier Division will have lifted Robert Gatt's optimism about Hibernians' chances of upsetting their Irish opponents in the first leg of their Champions League first qualifying round next Wednesday.

On Thursday night, Shelbourne failed to gain the tonic they craved ahead of their trip to Malta yesterday as they squandered the lead three times against newly-promoted Drogheda United in a three-all draw,π at their Tolka Park stadium, littered by some woeful defending.

The match was watched by the Hibernians' coach who flew out to Ireland after his side's 3-2 victory over Sliema Wanderers in their second Lowenbrau Cup to run the rule over Shelbourne.

Shelbourne's poor display in their 3-0 defeat in Cork last week, prompted manager Pat Fenlon to make some changes as he himself played in midfield and Tony McCarthy returned to central defence.

Trevor Molloy, sent off last week, worked a one-two with Ollie Cahill to send over a low cross which Drogheda midfielder Gary Cronin turned into his own net after six minutes.

With Drogheda continuing to carve out decent openings, Shelbourne betrayed signs of uneasiness in defence, conceding an equaliser on 36 minutes.

Within a minute, Shelbourne regained their lead as Stephen Geoghegan pulled the ball back for Stuart Byrne to fire a low shot into the net. But another goalkeeping error had Drogheda level two minutes before the break.

Within eight minutes of the restart, Shelbourne were back in the driving seat courtesy of Molloy, their most effective player.

A spirited Drogheda continued to battle and they levelled for a third time to secure their point on 69 minutes when Taylor picked his spot, leaving Shelbourne still looking for their first competitive win of the season.

Meanwhile, ShelsWeb, Shelbourne's official website, reported yesterday that Fenlon is hopeful of signing former Irish international striker David Kelly.

Shelbourne were hoping to seal the Kelly deal before the squad was due to fly out to the islands yesterday evening.

The much-travelled Kelly, who has just completed a stint with Mansfield, is also weighing up a couple of other offers.

Friendly versus Man. United

Meanwhile, Shelbourne were assured of a full-strength squad by manager Alex Ferguson when Manchester United play a lucrative friendly at the Tolka Park today week.

The friendly will provide an ideal preparation for Shelbourne ahead of their second leg clash with Hibernians but of added interest is the first appearance in Ireland of United skipper Roy Keane.

Keane was involved in a sensational bust-up with national coach Mick McCarthy before even kicking a ball in the World Cup last month.

The friendly will be the second high-profile match for Shelbourne, the Irish champions. Recently, they were beaten 4-1 by Scottish Premier League 2001/2002 winners Celtic.

Shelbourne's line-up against Drogheda: Williams; Prenderville, Heary, McCarthy, Crawley; R. Baker, Fenlon, S. Byrne, Cahill; Geoghegan (Roberts 79), Molloy.