Rubin Kazan 4 - 1 Shamrock Rovers

Shamrock Rovers fell to a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Russian side Rubin Kazan in their Europa League clash in Russia.

The freezing cold played into the hands of the Russians as the visitors looked to adjust to the poor conditions underfoot.

It was, however, Rovers who got off to a bright start as they took the role of the aggressor in the opening five minutes.

Despite a positive start it would be their hosts who got the first shot on goal when Uruguayan striker Valdez saw his shot across the face of the goal soar narrowly wide.

This would give Rubin a boost as they looked to grab an early goal much like when the sides first met in Dublin.

And that they did when, with nine minutes gone, Valdez turned Ken Oman way too easily for the liking of the Rovers centre back. He then slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net to bag his first European goal for his club.

This was an ominous start, however, Rovers looked to reply immediately and Ronan Finn looked to find his way into the corner but was carelessly hacked down by Rubin Captain Cesar Navas who received a yellow card for his troubles.

From the resulting free kick Billy Dennehy whipped in a cross to the far post and Oman rose highest to head past Sergei Ryzhikov in the Rubin net.

Oman’s goal meant that the host’s lead lasted a mere two minutes and put the Tallaght side back on the front foot.

The next chance of the game would fall to Dennehy. The winger skipped around the challenge of Navas who was threading carefully following his earlier yellow card. Dennehy then had a choice of whether to shoot or to square the ball to Karl Sheppard.

He decided to shoot but his effort was comfortably turned around the post for a corner kick by Ryzhikov.

Michael O’Neill’s men were then left ruing Dennehy’s error when just moments later Natcho twisted and turned at the edge of the box before finding enough space to fire the ball into the bottom corner.

This was a hard blow for the visitors who had arguably been the better side up until this point and should have been one up just a few moments earlier.

With half time leaving Rubin Kazan 2-1 up Rovers were in need of some inspirational words at the break before they went back out for the second half.

Rovers again started off the second half well and got forward at every chance but they could not find a way to break down the Kazan defence.

And they paid the price for their ambitious approach when Valdez benefited from the Rovers the defence ball watching.

The striker slipped behind the back four and avoided the offside trap before powering past Thompson to bag his second of the evening.

It got worse for Rovers when Martins scored a controversial fourth goal for Rubin. It appeared the ball had left the field of play before Martins tapped into the net but the referee allowed the goal to stand and made the score 4-1.

Rubin didn’t let up and Martins went in search of his second but his long range effort was harmlessly wide of Thompson’s goal.

To their credit none of the Rovers players ever stopped looking for a second goal and with nine minutes left Karl Sheppard got his first chance to get a decent shot on goal but his volley only skimmed the crossbar on the way over.

Rovers did have a late penalty shot but the referee correctly gave a free kick as the foul took place only just outside the box.  From the resulting free kick Dennehy blasted his effort over the bar.

This would be the last meaningful act of a disappointing evening for Shamrock Rovers as they remain pointless in the competition ahead of the final game which will see Tottenham Hotspur visit Tallaght Stadium.

Rubin Kazan: Sergei Ryzhikov; Roman Sharonov, Cesar Navas, Vitali Kaleshin, Salvatore Bocchetti, Aleksandr Ryazantsev (Vladimir Dyadyun 71), Christian Noboa, Bibras Natkho, Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Cristian Ansaldi 70), Obafemi Martins, Nelson Valdez (Alan Kasaev 61).

Subs Not Used: Aleksei Berezin, Petr Bystrov, Petr Nemov, Solomon Kvirkveli.

Bookings: Navas (11), Ryazentsev (38), Karadeniz (69).

Shamrock Rovers: Ryan Thompson; Pat Sullivan, Dan Murray, Ken Oman, Enda Stevens; James Paterson (Ciaran Kilduff 70), Ronan Finn (Stephen O’Donnell 70), Chris Turner (Gary Twigg 81), Stephen Rice, Billy Dennehy; Karl Sheppard.

Subs Not Used: Richard Brush, Gary McCabe, Gary O’Neil, Rohan Ricketts.

Bookings: Sullivan (62), Murray (65), O'Donnell (75).

Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria).

Man of the Match: Nelson Valdez (Rubin Kazan).