Shamrock Rovers 1 - 1 Partizan Belgrade

• Simon O'Gorman
• Thu, Aug 18 2011


An 81st minute goal from Gary McCabe gave Shamrock Rovers a well deserved draw against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday night as Michael O’Neill’s men put in an hour of superb football to keep their dreams of the Europa League group stage alive and kicking.

Prior to the game Rovers’ boss Michael O’Neill had stressed the need for discipline and concentration among his men. The scale of the task was epic as they sought to overcome a side that had the technical ability to punish any errors and this seemed to foster a sense of foreboding among the ranks of the home team.

They were edgy from the first whistle and, as Partizan whisked the ball about in midfield, Rovers looked out of sorts and lacking in confidence. Then the nightmare came to pass as a moment of hesitation from Enda Stevens at left back allowed a pass from Aleksandar Rankovic to find Vladimir Jovancic in the inside-right channel. He pulled a crisp ball back from the by-line and Nemanja Tomic, in acres of unguarded space, cracked home a sweet shot to give the away side the lead.

Stephen Rice was the first to break the spell as a two footed challenge indicated that he, at least, had lost the fear. Partizan continued to weave pretty patterns and Tomic had another chance on 18 minutes when Jovancic stepped over a low cross from Stankovic, allowing Tomic to run on and shoot wastefully wide.

Three minutes later Eduardo should have done better than offer a weak shot after a bouncing ball had eluded Dan Murray on the edge of the Rovers box and seconds later Jovancic headed straight at Ryan Thompson from six yards as he got on the end of a pinpoint cross from Eduardo.

But, one by one, the Rovers players awoke and gradually the home side started to close their visitors down and create the kind of errors that disrupted Partizan’s flowing play. Gary McCabe, Conor McCormack, Pat Sullivan and Enda Stevens all started to apply pressure on their opponents and as half time approached the Hoops began to look like a team who were worthy of a place at this stage of the competition.

True, clear chances on goal were rare to non-existent, but Partizan were at least forced to defend and Dan Murray headed over from a corner on 25 minutes and then lifted his shot, from another corner, high over the bar six minutes before the break.

Chris Turner replaced Ronan Finn, who had been doubtful with a knock before the game, at half time as Rovers continued to play with more freedom and ambition in the second half. But Partizan too were playing to their strengths and at times they put together passages of passing play that were quite hypnotic.

On 56 minutes Thompson almost pressed the self destruct button when his goal kick went straight to Jovancic. The Partizan forward charged towards goal but Thompson recovered to save at the striker’s feet when a second goal seemed certain.

Perhaps sensing the reprieve Rovers attacked and a Pat Sullivan throw-in on the right was flicked on by Sives for Turner to send a looping header narrowly over at the back post. Gary O’Neill came on for Billy Dennehy as Rovers set up in a more attacking formation and suddenly they were playing with the kind of ambition that got them to this position in the first place.

McCabe drew a frustrated foul from Eduardo on the corner of the Partizan box in the 63rd minute and the wingers delivery was flicked on target by Sullivan who was lurking in front of the defensive line. It signalled a period of concerted pressure and on 68 minutes there were loud appeals for a penalty, not given by Estonian referee Hannes Kaasick, when Jovancic sliced a clearance onto the arm of Rnic.

In the 76th minute Michael O’Neill sent Ciaran Kilduff on for the superb Stephen Rice as caution was thrown to the wind. Six minutes later and Rovers had the reward that they so richly deserved. Gary McCabe strode forward from midfield, slipped past Medo and played a delicate one-two with Twigg. He poked the ball past the last defender and then tucked it wide of Stojkovic and into the Partizan net.

The home crowd exploded and moments later Twigg came within inches of sending them into rapture when he got on the end of a ball across the box only to hook it wide from six yards out while at full stretch.

The final moments saw both teams battling on equal terms, Babovic causing some concern for Rovers on the Partizan right, while MCabe, Sullivan and Turner forced a series of breaks that might just have edged Rovers ahead at the last. On 90 minutes Ivanov was forced to head clear as the ball pinged around the visitor’s box and a minute later Turner almost got a foot to a dropping ball just ten yards out.

It ended 1-1 and, while the task ahead of Rovers in Belgrade next Thursday is significant, they must take heart from the progress their performance made from the opening twenty minutes to the herculean efforts of the last twenty. This isn’t over yet, not quite.

Shamrock Rovers: Ryan Thompson; Pat Sullivan, Craig Sives, Dan Murray, Enda Stevens; Gary McCabe, Ronan Finn (Chris Turner, 46), Conor McCormack, Stephen Rice (Ciaran Kilduff, 76), Billy Dennehy (Gary O’Neill, 58); Gary Twigg.
Subs not used: Richard Brush, Pat Flynn, Karl Moore, Karl Sheppard.

Bookings: Turner (71), Sullivan (84).

Partizan Belgrade: Vladimir Stojkovic; Aleksandar Rankovic, Nemanja Rnic, Ivan Ivanov, Vojiaslav Stankovic; Nemanja Tomic, Medo Kamara, Sasa Ilic (Lazar Markovic, 84), Milan Smiljanic; Vladimir Jovancic (Sasa Markovic, 94), Eduardo Pacheco (Stefan Babovic, 66).
Subs not used: Radisa Ilic (GK), Aleksandar Davidov, Nikola Ninkovic, Lamine Diarra.

Bookings: Jovancic (93).

Referee: Hannes Kaasick (Estonia).
Attendance: 4,650
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Stephen Rice.