Sloga Jugomagnat 0 Shelbourne 1

Last night Shelbourne bridged an 18-year gap when they became the first League of Ireland team to win away in Europe since Shamrock Rovers beat Romania's Uni Craiova 3-0 in the UEFA Cup in 1982.

Europe has not been kind to Irish teams since then - as proven last season when champions St. Patrick's Athletic went out 10-0 on aggregate from the first round of the Champions League.

But it was all so different last night, as a stunning 83rd-minute strike from Richie Baker earned Shelbourne the priceless win in Macedonia against Sloga Jugomagnat and now the Dublin outfit will be favourites to progress to the second round of this year's Champions League, where they will face Rosenborg.

It was a deserved victory for the Irish. They could have taken the lead in the first half when Pat Fenlon picked out Dessie Baker with a precise pass. Baker advanced on the Sloga goalkeeper and lifted the ball over him but saw it drift agonisingly wide.

Slogo went close minutes later when Mustafi raided down the right and picked out Maznov in the centre. Maznov's shot was goalbound but Shelbourne goalkeeper Steve Williams stretched to push it away.

Shelbourne's defensive set-up was frustrating the home team but they still created another couple of chances. The best fell to Arben Nuhiji in the 69th minute when he was put clear, but his shot from the edge of the box screwed wide.

Baker's moment of destiny came in the 83rd minute when the game looked as if it was drifting towards a draw. The Irish u21 international burst down the wing and was about to cut towards goal when he was hacked down by Sterjoski.

Baker picked himself up off the ground and curled the 22-yard free kick into the right-hand corner of the net.

Shelbourne manager Dermot Keely was justifiedly delighted with the win. He said: "There were just seven minutes remaining when Richie took his free kick. And he made no mistake with a stunning shot that totally deceived the goalkeeper. Richie is a fantastic young fellow. He has great vision and can go very far in the game.

"I was pleased with the entire team's performance in such difficult weather conditions. But I have told them that it is only half time in the tie. We still have to play the second leg at Tolka Park next Wednesday. But it's nice to have a single goal advantage going into that game."

Sloga Jugomagnat: Nikoloski; G. Jovanoski, Zdravevski, Z. Jovanoski; Mustafi, Maznov, Ramadan, Bajram, Sterjoski; Presilski, Beciri.
Subs: Nuhiji for Presilski and Janevski for Bajram (both at half time), Ramadani for Ramadan (76 mins).
Shelbourne: Williams; Heary, Raeside, McCarthy, Hutchison; R. Baker, Fenlon, Doolin, Keddy; D. Baker, S Geoghegan.
Subs: Haylock and Scully for Doolin and Raeside (both half-time), Foran for Geoghegan (77 mins).
Referee: W Sova (Austria).