Shamrock Rovers 0 Slovan Liberec 2Czech side Slovan Liberec will head for Spain next week and a third-round tie with Racing Santander after comfortably ending the interest of Shamrock Rovers in this year's Intertoto cup at Richmond Park yesterday. The Irish team had no complaints after a game they lost by two goals, for while they performed strongly and even created a handful of half-chances, they never unsettled a team that always looked good enough to capitalise on the advantage had established in the tie's first leg a week ago.

Goals in the closing quarter of an hour from Vaclav Kolousek and Jan Nezmar gave a slightly cruel look to the final scoreline but afterwards Rovers Liam Buckley manager conceded his team had been beaten by a stronger side and described the outing as the latest instalment of what he sees as a developing side's learning experience.

"Clearly," he said, "they're a better side than we are. They have a lot of quality players and if we're honest I think they were just okay today even if the scoreline suggests otherwise.

"We've been involved in the competition for four weeks though," he added, "and they've been great weeks, particularly when you think what a young crew we have. What we take away from this is the knowledge that the sooner we can get a full-time set up in place the sooner we can be competing with teams like this one today. For me, that was the greatest single difference between the two sides and, depending on how the Tallaght project goes and how soon we can get in there, it's something I think we can address so that next season, if we are involved again, we can build on an experience like this in our European games."

Needing to score goals if they were to rescue the tie but anxious not to end up being humiliated, Rovers struck a decent balance in the opening half although their attempts to exert some attacking pressure on their opponents were repeatedly undone by their own tendency to give the ball away through wayward or pressure-inducing passing as the Czechs packed midfield and closed the locals quickly.

Just short of the half-hour, James Keddy forced Antonin Kinsky into a fine save low to his left with a 20-yard curling free from the right and the keeper's slightly erratic approach to high balls appeared to offer some hope of a breakthrough.

With Buckley's decision to bring in Trevor Molloy for Shane Robinson on the right wing backfiring, though, and neither of the Rovers strikers making much of an impact around the area, the Liberec defence looked steadily more comfortable as the game progressed and Kinsky was not required to get seriously involved in the action again.

Things improved slightly after Robinson was introduced from the bench although the young winger, quickly booked for dissent after failing to win a corner he felt he deserved, was fortunate not to be sent off for any one of several swipes at his marker.

On the other flank, Stephen Grant did well in the circumstances while inside him Jason Colwell and Alan Reynolds had their moments in what was a very tough afternoon for the pair. Defensively, Rovers again looked good, with Richie Byrne making one marvellous tackle in the first half when a goal looked likely, Stephen Gough looking perhaps the team's most composed passer under pressure and Terry Palmer establishing that even against opposition of this calibre he has the pace and awareness to hold his own.

Behind him, however, Barry Ryan had a slightly less impressive day with both of the visiting side's goals coming after parried shots were followed up.

The goalkeeper, to be fair, could do little enough about the first with his initial save of Jan Polak's low drive made at full-stretch, although Kolousek's follow up wasn't particularly well placed and Ryan appeared to get a hand to it as it went past him.

But his attempt to stop Jan Broschinsky's effort five minutes from time was certainly disappointing even if, after he had successfully blocked Filip Holosko's follow up the former UCD player might have felt it was one of his team-mates' turn to do something about Nezmar who stepped up unchallenged to slip the ball home from eight yards out.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Ryan; Gough, Palmer, Byrne, Keddy; Molloy (Robinson, 59 mins), Colwell, Reynolds, S Grant; Fitzpatrick, T Grant.

SLOVAN LIBEREC: Kinsky; Zapotocny, Valachovic, Lukas, Janu; Kisel, Langer (Broschinsky, 25 mins), Polak, Ancic; Kolovsek (Nezmar, 78 mins); Pospisil (Holosko, 74 mins).

Referee: J Hyytia (Finland).