Uefa Conference League, third round qualifying, second leg: Shelbourne (1) v Ajax (3), Tolka Park, Thursday, 7.45pm – Live on Premier Sports 1Milan Mbeng might be pleased to hear that Mika Godts did not start in Ajax’s opening Eredivisie game away to PEC Zwolle last Sunday.The Belgian winger had Shelbourne’s French right back in all sorts of bother inside the Johan Cruyff Arena last Thursday, scoring an early penalty and creating the other two goals in a 3-1 win that will be remembered for the sensational goalkeeping of Eddie Beach and the delirium of 500 visiting fans after Dan Kelly’s late goal kept the tie alive.In theory anyway.Godts did come off the bench on Sunday, alongside German midfielder Julian Brandts, to ensure that Míchel Sanchez’s side launched their domestic campaign with all three points. Brandts and Godts combined to make it 2-0 in injury-time just as Shelbourne came up short at home to St Patrick’s Athletic.This is the Dutch masters second competitive game in Ireland with the previous trip in 1987 sending them to face Dundalk at Oriel Park in the Cup Winners’ Cup.When Shelbourne played Deportivo La Coruña in the Champions League qualifier in August 2004, the match was switched to Lansdowne Road as fans from every League of Ireland club showed up in their colours to swell the attendance to 24,000. Only 4,343 can be accommodated inside Tolka Park, with the club doing what was required to satisfy Uefa rather than move to Tallaght or the Aviva Stadium. The Ballybough end is closed with travelling Ajax supporters getting 370 tickets.Shelbourne are not equipped to compete in the Conference League group phase at this stage in their development under new manager John Russell.If not for Beach, Ajax could have sent academy players to Dublin as the Welsh under-21 had the game of his life to keep the score down in Amsterdam.Shelbourne's Eddie Beach. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho The lesson from Kelly’s goal will not be lost on Russell. Expect Ali Coote to come back into the side in an attacking role as Shels abandon their ultra-defensive approach.“If you offered us 3-1 before the game, we would have taken it,” said Russell. “It lets us come back to Tolka, a full house, where it’s going to be a different game for them as well.”Maybe Sanchez will want to prove a point about his possession-based philosophy, that saw him guide Girona into the Champions League in 2024, before the City Group club were relegated last season, which led the Spaniard to the Netherlands.If Godts and Brandts appear on the team sheet, Ajax mean business. The German midfielder was signed for a title push while the Belgian seems certain to depart for Paris Saint-Germain next week.Ajax are a squad influx but so are Shelbourne. Small mercies comes in the shape of Dutch winger Steven Berghuis being unable to travel for personal reasons, while former Ireland under-21 striker Mipo Odubeko is likely to feature after an injury lay off.Kelly noted in Amsterdam that his goal was only possible because the ball sat up perfectly on the Cryuff Arena’s manicured surface. The Ajax players will be taken aback by the old world feel of the Drumcondra venue but it should not take long for the quality of internationals like Israeli midfielder Oscar Gloukh and Danish striker Kasper Dolberg to create separation, especially if Russell’s side attack in numbers.However it goes, Ajax at Tolka Park is a unique moment in the history of Irish football that Shelbourne and the rest hope can become regular occurrences in the coming decades.