It was a night of mixed emotions at the Stadion Celje as Shelbourne FC played out a gritty 0–0 draw against Slovenian side NK Celje in their final UEFA Conference League match of 2025. While the Irish side departs the competition as the only team in the league phase to fail to score a goal, they secured a valuable second point and a massive financial windfall for the club.
Match recap
Shelbourne entered the match with nothing but pride and prize money on the line, but they put in one of their most disciplined defensive performances of the season. Celje dominated the ball, as expected, but found themselves repeatedly thwarted by a resolute Shelbourne backline.
The visitors nearly pulled off a shock victory late in the game when substitute John Martin broke free down the right wing, but his cross just evaded the stretching Kerr McInroy. Despite the lack of goals, the draw earned the club an additional €133,000 in prize money, bringing their total European earnings for the year to over €4 million.
Wessel Speel’s performance
Wessel Speel was undoubtedly the star of the show, delivering his most impressive performance in a Shelbourne shirt to date.
- Shot-stopping: The 6’7″ Dutchman produced a string of high-quality saves to keep the clean sheet intact. His most vital moment came in the 61st minute when he showed incredible reflexes to tip a goal-bound header from Franko Kovacevic over the bar.
- Late heroics: Even into stoppage time, Speel remained focused, diving low to his bottom right to deny a powerful long-range effort from Florjan Jevsenak that seemed destined for the corner.
- Commanding presence: Throughout the 90 minutes, Speel was a dominant force in his area, successfully claiming three crosses and high balls under significant pressure from the Celje attackers.
- Distribution: While the team struggled to transition into attack, Speel’s long distribution was instrumental in relieving pressure during Celje’s most dominant spells.
Stats
- Minutes played: 90
- Saves: 6
- Clean sheet: 1
- Overall rating: 8.2 (Man of the Match)
What’s next for Speel?
With the European campaign over, Speel’s future remains a topic of conversation for Loons fans as the 2026 MLS preseason approaches.
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