Uefa Conference League qualifying third round, first leg: Ajax 3 (Godts 6, Wijndal 22, Dolberg 50) Shelbourne 1 (Kelly 83)Out of nowhere, as the minutes ticked down, Daniel Kelly briefly silenced a packed Johan Cruyff Arena with a goal that brought some respectability to this one-sided Uefa Conference League qualifier.The late arrival of Ali Coote from the Shelbourne bench signalled John Russell’s intention to put pressure on Ajax.Coote beat the offside trap to chest down Paddy Barrett’s diagonal ball and unleash a shot that Maarten Paes saved. Kelly was on hand to net the rebound and create a memory that the Drumcondra club can always cherish.The 500 travelling fans had their moment to sing. And be heard. On paper at least, it keeps the tie alive heading back to Tolka Park next Thursday.Amsterdammers in red and white, alongside regular commuters in rush hour, swelled the metro from Centraal Station to the Cruyff Arena.The opposition were irrelevant. At the dawn of a new season, and new era under technical director Jordi Cruyff, the locals came to be entertained as they sipped mini-cans of Heineken and Dutch Pilsner.For the Shelbourne players, it was the chance of a lifetime. Russell, their new manager, came with a focused plan to keep the score down.Eddie Beach, Shels’ Welsh goalkeeper, made a string of reflex saves on a career night to keep the final tally down. With Ajax hitting 11 of their 32 shots on target, it could easily have been 7-1. But Shelbourne dug in.Ajax dominated every aspect of the opening 45 minutes, so their Spanish manager Míchel will be disappointed with 2-0 at the turn.The first goal was a harsh on Shelbourne but VAR spotted Milan Mbeng’s foul on Mika Godts after just three minutes.Play had moved well beyond what appeared, in real time, to be a risky slide tackle as the French right-back versus the Belgian winger was shaping into the duel of the night.De Telegraaf, the Dutch football paper, report that super-agent Jorge Mendes is currently negotiating Godts’ move to Paris Saint Germain for a fee in the region of €65 million. Transfermarkt.com value Mbeng at €175,000.The black-clad ultras down the far end were already celebrating when Turkish referee Atilla Karaoglan touched his ear and ran towards the screen beside the Shelbourne dugout. The freeze-frame, when magnified, showed grass between Mbeng’s boot and the ball when the slightest contact brought Godts to ground.The 21-year-old’s possible parting gift to the Cruyff Arena was to finish his penalty down the middle after Beach blinked first and leaped to his right.Ajax's forward Mika Godts scores a penalty against Shelbourne. Photograph: Olaf Kraak / ANP/AFP via Getty The flow of the contest was already established. Shels adopted two banks of five and four defenders with Kelly getting no support from midfield.Ajax accepted the challenge of outfoxing the ultra-low block. Even their warm-up was designed to pull Shels apart with a prolonged session of switching play and mesmerising one touch control. Technically, the visitors had entered a different football dimension.Shels will hold regrets about the second Ajax goal, in the 22nd minute, as Sean Moore appeared to switch off when Steven Berghuis’ inswinger found an unmarked Owen Wijndal.Beach got Shels to the break. Barely. Before he parried Danish international Kasper Dolberg’s effort, he made a super save from Oscar Gloukh after Daley Blind and Godts linked down the right.Gloukh might become a familiar name to Irish supporters when the Republic of Ireland face Israel in September and October. So much of Ajax’s play goes through the number 10.On the stroke of half-time, Beach drew a ripple of applause from an otherwise partisan crowd when he fingertipped Dolberg’s low shot for a corner.Blind was next to test Beach’s reflexes from long range. Ajax were relentless, three days out from their opening Eredivisie fixture away to PEC Zwolle, with Dolberg making it 3-0 after sneaking behind Barrett to reward another excellent cross from Berghuis.Beach had an unforgettable night, denying Godts a second penalty goal before the hour mark. The Belgian sped around Mbeng only to see his clipped delivery glance off Evan Caffrey’s arm. Beach wasn’t to be fooled again. He waited and forced the Belgian to pick a side.Godts did not miss a beat, slaloming through several bodies to tee up Berghuis for a tap in that Beach somehow batted away.With Shelbourne players flagging, Berghuis sought redemption with a stinging attempt that, yet again, Beach touched over the crossbar.Coote arrived and turned the game around as Kelly applied an unforgettable finishing touch.Ajax: Paes; Gaaei, Bouwman, Blind, Wijndal; Klaassen (Leonardo 58), Gloukh (Mokio 58), Regeer; Berghuis (Edvardsen 64), Dolberg (Brandt 64), Godts (Carrizo 77).Shelbourne: Beach; Mbeng, Bone, Barrett, Ledwidge, Norris (Gannon 90); Moore (Freitas 73), Henry-Francis (Coote 80), McInroy (Casey 80); Caffrey; Kelly.Referee: Atilla Karaoglan (Turkey).