Champions League second qualifying round, first leg: Shamrock Rovers 0-2 Sparta Prague
More memorable European nights are ahead for Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium. The gulf in class was simply too wide as Sparta Prague did enough, and no more, to avoid an early season stumble down Whitestown Way.
Stephen Bradley’s team have won four consecutive league titles by playing ambitious football. Technically superior to domestic opposition, the high-press is usually avoided by Dylan Watts picking a pass under pressure to Daniel Cleary and away down field they go.
Against Sparta, in this Champions League qualifier, the usual approach came unstuck as the Czech champions scored a goal in the 38th minute that came directly from Rovers trying to pitter-patter out of defence. The Watts pass never found Cleary as there were five visiting players in the Hoops box when Serbian winger Veljko Birmancevic broke the deadlock.
The tie remained alive until Tomas Wiesner sucked the life out of the 9,684 attendance by making it 2-0 in the 65th minute.
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That turns the second-leg at the Letná Stadium in Prague next Tuesday into a dead rubber as Rovers seem certain to drop into a Europa League third round qualifier against the loser of Celje versus Slovan Bratislava. Bradley has the players to live with Slovenians or Slovakians but the Czechs were operating way above the League of Ireland’s strongest squad.
New Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson was unable to watch Jack Byrne and Graham Burke, suspended and injured respectively, on his first visit to Tallaght.
Rovers also missed the creativity of their Irish internationals.
Neil Farrugia surely caught Hallgrímsson’s eye before the Icelander embarks on a whirlwind tour of English Championship clubs, where most of his squad play, when games resume on August 9th, just four weeks before Ireland’s Nations League opener against England in Dublin. But last night was another important part of his meet-and-greet-the-locals tour alongside FAI director of football Marc Canham.
Tactically, Rovers versus Sparta will probably look a lot like Ireland versus England on September 7th.
Bradley, understandably, went with a cautious back five, which invited the Czechs to go man on man, pushing five attackers forward. Pico Lopes and Daniel Cleary accepted the challenge, nullifying the aerial threat even as the contest quickly descended into patient Sparta dominating possession.
The trick was to keep Qazim Laci quiet. Watts monitored the Albanian’s efforts to ghost into space but the Sparta skipper, who excelled at Euro 2024, was a cut above this standard.
Rovers were equally brave in how Bradley set them up. Farrugia and Darragh Nugent worked tirelessly to link midfield to lone striker Johnny Kenny. And play football on the grass. This is where Byrne’s feathery touch was missed. Not that Rovers can rely on the injury-prone 28 year old this season.
The first chance of the night belonged to Martin Vitik, when the Sparta centre half stung Leon Pohls’ gloves before the ball ricocheted for a corner.
Sparta were rusty, just one match into their domestic campaign, but Farrugia failed to capitalise on a first half error. One surging run ended with a left footed shot missing the target.
Sparta had seen enough. Poor distribution by Watts invited Birmancevic to smash a finish to the Rovers net after Lopes cleared Imanol García de Albéniz’s initial shot off the line.
Rovers responded with Farrugia blasting another long range attempt into the new stand.
Lars Friis, Sparta’s Danish manager, removed two star-turns Vitik and Birmancevic at the interval. Both travelled to Germany for the European Championships that only ended prematurely for Czechia and Serbia in late June.
Farrugia continued his one-man audition for higher individual honours by twisting away from Laci and Markus Solbakken only for Kenny’s tame shot to be easily gathered by Peter Vindahl.
The second goal came in transition as a back-pedalling Rovers were unable to cover Wiesner at the back post. Pohls did get another glove to the first time finish from point blank range.
Joshua Honohan had two late chances to keep the second-leg interesting but a fine save from Vindahl and a miscue left the young defender holding his head in injury-time.
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls; Honohan, Cleary, Lopes, Hoare, Clarke (Grace 85); O’Neill, Watts; Farrugia (Burns 66), Nugent; Kenny (Greene 66).
Sparta Prague: Vindahl; Vitik (Sorensen 46), Ross, Zeleny; Wiesner, Laci (Pavelka 62), Solbakken, García de Albéniz; Tuci (Krasniqi 62), Kuchta (Olatunji 75), Birmancevic (Haraslin 46).
Referee: Joey Kooij (Netherlands).
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