- Dave Donnelly
- Thu, Oct 03 2024
Dave Donnelly reports from Tallaght Stadium
Substitute Dylan Watts scored an injury-time header to salvage a point for ten-man Shamrock Rovers in their UEFA Conference League opener at home to APOEL.
The midfielder nodded home a corner from fellow sub Jack Byrne - playing against his former club - to snatch a deserved draw after Rovers played 40 minutes a player down.
Konstantinos Laifis looked to have sealed an unlikely win for the underwhelming visitors as the Hoops were once again the source of their own downfall in Europe.
Neil Farrugia was shown a second yellow card early in the second half for a tug on Maquinhos - Rovers’ fourth sending-off in nine games this campaign.
The decision appeared a touch soft but the wing-back could have few complaints after being booked for a similar offence shortly before the break.
A chasm in European and international experience between the sides was best exemplified as Johnny Kenny missed Rovers’ best chance while down to ten men.
The on-loan Celtic striker was clipped by Laifis as he bore down on goal but opted to stay on his feet when a penalty and red card was nailed on had he gone down.
Laifis' bullet header shortly after Farrugia’s dismissal was a rare moment of entertainment in an otherwise drab affair in front of more than 7,000 fans.
APOEL bossed the ball from start to finish - completing an impressive 562 passes to Rovers’ 227 - but neither side created anything of note until the home team were reduced to ten.
Leon Pohls showed his goalkeeper worth within a minute as he tipped a Marquinhos shot from wide on the right to safety.
And the same player had another chance when Xavi Quintilla’s cross was tamely cleared into his path, but this time he pulled his effort past the post.
Kenny had Rovers only chance of note at the midway point as he turned the defender and, despite being pulled back, let fly from the edge of the box but shot well over.
Ref Jérémie Pignard inadvertently blocked Markus Poom’s path and, rather than stop the game, allowed David Abagna - who was lucky to stay on after a nasty challenge on Josh Honohan - to shoot harmlessly over.
Rovers started the second half the brighter and Kenny found space in the box to shoot straight at Vid Belec but the game was turned on its head moments later.
A neat one-two saw Marquinhos ghost in behind Farrugia and the former UCD man, who had been booked earlier for a clash with Quintilla, pulled the winger’s arm and saw red.
Pohls produced an outstanding save shortly after to deny Moroccan international Youssef El-Arabi, tipping the striker’s header expertly over the bar.
There was to be no reprieve for the Hoops, however, as the resulting delivery from Sergio Tejera was emphatically headed into the net by centre-back Laifis.
Rovers had arguably their best spell of the game with ten men and a beautiful through ball from Danny Mandroiu sent Kenny one-on-one with Belec.
The striker was clipped by Laifis but, rather than go down and take the penalty, he remained on his feet and Belec was more than equal to his effort from a tight angle.
Marquinhos had a great chance to wrap it up late on as he outfoxed Dan Cleary on the edge of the box but he was caught in two minds about whether to shoot or pass, and did neither.
And so it was left to the reinforcements to clean up, with Byrne’s delivery from the left inch-perfect for Watts to rise highest and net a rare headed goal in front of the South Stand ultras.
Shamrock Rovers: Léon Pöhls; Daniel Cleary, Pico, Lee Grace; Joshua Honohan, Markus Poom (Cory O'Sullivan 53), Gary O'Neill (Richie Towell 64), Darragh Nugent (Jack Byrne 77), Neil Farrugia; Daniel Mandroiu (Dylan Watts 77), Johnny Kenny (Aaron Greene 77).
Subs not used: Lee Steacy (gk), Seán Hoare, Seán Kavanagh, Darragh Burns, Aaron McEneff, Conan Noonan.
Booked: Neil Farrugia (42, 50).
Sent off: Neil Farrugia (50).
APOEL: Vid Belec; Xavier Quintillà (Issam Chebake 72), Radosav Petovic, Konstantinos Laifis (Lasha Dvali 89), Mateo Sušić; Georgi Kostadinov, David Abagna (Panagiotis Kattirtzis 61), Sergio Tejera; Dieumerci Ndongala (Marius Corbu 89), Marquinhos; Youssef El-Arabi (Algassime Bah 72).
Subs not used: Andreas Christodoulou (gk), Savvas Michos (gk), Max Meyer, Paris Polycarpou, Giannis Satsias.
Booked: David Abagna (35), Xavier Quintillà (42).
Referee: Jérémie Pignard (France).
Attendance: 7,111 (official).
extratime.com Player of the Match: Darragh Nugent (Shamrock Rovers).
