Europa Conference League: KAA Gent 3 - 0 Shamrock Rovers

A double from Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe gave Gent a first win in this season’s Europa Conference League. The experienced Belgian outfit added to their opening day draw with Molde to top the group.

It was a tough evening for Shamrock Rovers. Behind early on, they were unable to take advantage of opportunities that came their way. Stephen Bradley cut a frustrated figure at the end.          

The home side elected to make two changes from the scoreless draw in Norway. Michael Ngadeu and Malick Fofana came into the starting line-up ahead of Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Matisse Samoise.

Rovers made three alterations from the draw with Djurgardens. Dan Cleary coming in for the injured Sean Hoare whilst Jack Byrne and Rory Gaffney replaced Aaron Greene and Justin Ferizaj.

The Belgians were immediately looking to get in behind the Rovers defence. Joseph Okumu had an effort deflected over for a corner from which Hugo Cuypers was only able to put his header on top of the net.

It was a warning of the home sides intent. Dan Cleary almost gifted them an opportunity with a loose pass but Rovers were able to clear.

It was not a surprise when Gent struck for the lead. Hyunseok Kong picked up the ball in midfield before spraying out a wonderful ball to the advancing Malick Fofana who played it first time to Cuypers. The forward saw the ball come just behind him but shifted the ball into space before drilling it past Alan Mannus.

The home side were boosted by this and swarmed around the Rovers back-line. They were struggling to get out of their own half by now. A rare break saw Andy Lyons advance into space down the left flank be to thwarted by Alessio Castro-Montes.  

Disaster followed as Gent went further in front. They had been aiming to break the lines by playing out from the back, but it all asunder.

Mannus played a risky pass to Cleary with Huypers lurking behind him. The defender lost his footing to lose the ball. Cuypers saw his shot blocked but it rebounded to Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe. His first-time volley gave Mannus no chance.

Despite the deficit, Rovers were actually doing well in possession. Rory Gaffney won a corner and him and Dylan Watts produced a routine set-piece that almost resulted in a chance for Cleary.

They may not have been able to produce too many clear-cut opportunities but at least were in the right areas of the pitch. Another loose pass by Mannus saw him rescued by Ronan Finn.

Jordan Torunarigha did sting the hands of Mannus just before the break as the visitors strove to get to the break without conceding again. It had a wicked curl but the netminder did his business to get it away.  

The away side looked to begin the half more in the opposition half. Gary O’ Neill had a shot that went over the bar. A better chance came when a long ball was played towards Watts. It was half-cleared into the direction of Gaffney. His shot produced their first shot on target as Paul Nardi was forced to tip it away.

It was now more of an even game. The lively Cuypers put a shot just past the post before Byrne almost set up a chance for Gaffney. Nardi was alive to the danger again.

The best chance came when O’Neill played a ball through the Gent back-line towards Gaffney. His path was blocked but he managed to recycle it out back to Byrne. His curling effort went just wide of the post.

The home side then sealed the victory. The defence allowed Odjidja-Ofoe too much room to collect a return pass from Fofana. The captain put it beyond doubt as he curled his shot into the top right-hand corner.  

A moment of pure farce almost allowed a consolation for Rovers. Bruno Godeau fell to the ground after playing the ball back to Nardi.

Rovers applied pressure to the keeper who only succeeded in knocking the ball off the head of his team-mate. It fell to Aaron Greene who laid it off to Gaffney for a chance. Nardi saved it and a scuffle broke out.

Despite chances at both ends, that’s how the scoring finished up. The home side next play Djurgardens on the 6^th of October. Shamrock Rovers face a quarter-final against Derry at the weekend but have a tough trip to Molde.         

KAA Gent: Paul Nardi; Alessio Castro-Montes, Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Joseph Okumu, Jordan Torunarigha (Bruno Godeau 46); Hyunseok Hong (Elisha Owusu 70), Sven Kums, Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe (c) (Andrew Hjulsager 70); Hugo Cuypers, Malick Fofana (Laurent Depoitre 68), Jens Petter Hauge.
Subs not used: Davy Roef, Rene Vanden Borre, Bram Lagae, Andreas Hanche-Olsen, Núrio Fortuna, Robbie Van Hauter, Noah De Ridder, Ibrahim Salah.
Booked: Jens Petter Hauge (71).
Sent off: None.

Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Daniel Cleary, Sean Gannon, Lee Grace, Andy Lyons; Jack Byrne (Justin Ferizaj 76), Ronan Finn (Neil Farrugia 76), Chris McCann (Sean Kavanagh 46), Gary O'Neill (c), Dylan Watts (Aaron Greene 66); Rory Gaffney (Graham Burke 76).
Subs not used: Leon Pohls, Simon Power, Victor Serdeniuk, Aidomo Emakhu.
Booked: Aaron Greene (71) .
Sent off: None.

Referee: Vistar Kastrati
extratime.com Player of the Match: Hugo Cuypers.