Champions League Report: Sparta Prague 4 – 2 Shamrock Rovers (Sparta win 6 – 2 on agg)

Shamrock Rovers’ run in the Champions League came to an end in Prague on Tuesday night but their excellent performance in the 4-2 second leg second round qualifier defeat to Sparta will give them some momentum as their European campaign will continue in the Europa League third qualifying round.

Aaron Greene scored twice for the Hoops who had it all to do coming into this game two goals down from the first leg in Tallaght but they put in an excellent display against top quality opposition. 

Even when they went a goal down just before the half hour mark, within three minutes they were back level on the night only to concede another four minutes from the break.

Rovers had to rejig their defence 24 minutes into the first half when Sean Hoare had to come off due to injury with Dan Cleary coming on in his place and within two minutes Cleary was in the book for a late challenge.

Soon after the Hoops were a goal down and it was two headed goals that they would concede in the first half. The initial goal came after Leon Pöhls opted to punch clear a cross. The ball came out to Imanol on the left and when he swung it back into the danger zone Victor Olatunji was on hand to head home.

The equaliser came from a well worked Rovers goal that began with Pöhls playing the ball to Dylan Watts. The midfielder looked up and played a brilliant ball over the top to Aaron Greene who timed his run to beat the offside trap (with VAR confirming no issue). 

He still had an awful lot to do after he rounded the goalkeeper and from an acute angle his left foot finish found the back of the net.

The League of Ireland champions probably should have gone a goal up on the night after a fine run from Neil Farrugia as Rovers broke at speed. Darragh Nugent drove up the centre and played it to Farrugia who took the ball into the penalty area but his left foot effort went just the wrong side of the post from a Hoops perspective.

Sparta had six first half corners and it was from the set piece in the 41st minute that the home side took a 2-1 lead on the night. Laci whipped it in from the left and Mathias Ross rose above the Rovers defence to head home from inside the six yard box.

The Hoops came flying out of the traps in the second half, scoring inside two minutes. Farrugia fed Honohan wide right and his pin point cross found Greene who headed it by Peter Jensen in the Sparta goal.

The second leg scoreline soon changed again as within a minute of Rovers scoring Lee Grace lost Asger Sørensen at the back post and he headed home Kryštof Daněk’s corner kick.

A plethora of second half substitutes disrupted the flow of the game and it was Sparta sub Indrit Tuci who made it 4-2 drilling a low shot from outside the area. The Hoops hit the woodwork in the 75th minute as Lee Grace headed Jack Byrne’s centre onto the crossbar but that was as close as they came to scoring a third goal.

Rovers now enter into the Europa League third qualifying round and they will play NK Celje. The Slovenian side lost 6-1 on aggregate to Slovakian champions Slovan Bratislava. The first leg away Thursday of next week but subject to final confirmation.

Should the Hoops lose that tie they will have one final European parachute available to them as they would drop into the play-off round of the Conference League.

Sparta Praha: Peter Vindahl Jensen; David Pavelka, Mathias Ross Jensen, Asger Sørensen (Jaroslav Zeleny 62); Imanol García De Albéniz, Qazim Laci (Markus Solbakken 62), Lukáš Sadílek, Tomas Wiesner (Martin Suchomel 85); Kryštof Daněk (Indrit Tuci 70), Ermal Krasniqi, Victor Olatunji (Jan Kuchta 70).
Subs not used: Vojtěch Vorel, Jakub Surovčík, Matěj Ryneš, Ángelo Preciado, Martin Vitik, Veljko Birmancevic, Lukas Haraslín, 
Booked: Lukáš Sadílek (2), Qazim Laci (18), Kryštof Daněk (62).

Shamrock Rovers: Leon Pöhls; Seán Hoare (Daniel Cleary 24), Pico Lopes, Lee Grace; Joshua Honohan, Gary O'Neill, Darragh Nugent, Trevor Clarke (Darragh Burns 63); Dylan Watts (Jack Byrne 63), Aaron Greene (Graham Burke 75), Neil Farrugia (Markus Poom 63).
Subs not used: Lee Steacy, Cory O'Sullivan, Seán Kavanagh, Richard Towell, Cian Dillon, Conan Noonan.
Booked: Daniel Cleary (26), Darragh Nugent (38).

Referee: Simone Sozza (Italy). 
Attendance: 17,367
extratime.com Player of the Match: Aaron Greene (Shamrock Rovers)

Drogheda United sign former West Brom defender Aaron Harper-Bailey https://t.co/eaRDVBtXGopic.twitter.com/lKONQoeZ7f

— extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) July 29, 2024