Hello, and welcome to our liveblog of Shamrock Rovers’ penultimate Europa League game against Rubin Kazan.

Here are the teams for this evening’s match:

Shamrock Rovers: Thompson, Sullivan, Oman, Murray, Stevens
Rice, Dennehy, Finn, Turner, Paterson, Sheppard.

Subs: Brush, O’Donnell, McCabe, Twigg, Kilduff, O’Neill, Ricketts.

Rubin Kazan: Ryzhikov, Kaleshin, Sharonov, Cesar Navas, Bocchetti, Ryazantsev, Noboa, Natcho, Karadeniz, Haedo Valdez, Martins.

Subs: Berezin, Ansaldi, Bystrov, Nemov, Kasaev, Dyadyun, Kverkvelia.

And we’re off…

It’s been a fairly scrappy opening so far, with few chances for either side.

That was a close call! Valdez gets the wrong side of the Rovers defence and his shot from a difficult angle goes narrowly wide.

Ex-Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins has just made an ambitious attempt at a bicycle kick, but failed to properly connect. Rovers are beginning to come under a bit of pressure now.

GOAL FOR RUBIN KAZAN!

Yet another early setback for Rovers. That man again Valdez simply outpaces the Rovers defender and produces a powerful shot when through on goal, which Thompson can only palm into the net.

GOAL FOR SHAMROCK ROVERS!

The best possible response by Rovers! Oman heads in an excellent delivery from a free kick. The keeper probably could have done better,  but Rovers won’t be complaining.

That was a real case of ‘villain to hero’ for Ken Oman, as his lack of pace was badly exposed for the first goal, before grabbing the equaliser with that excellent header.

Rovers haven’t been under too much pressure since Oman’s goal, but Rubin did have a legitimate claim for a penalty, as there was strong suspicion of handball in the box by a Rovers defender.

Rovers have been throwing a fair amount of bodies in the box for any set pieces they get, and understandably so, as it clearly represents their best chance of scoring this evening.

A good run from Karl Sheppard draws the challenge from the defender and earns Rovers a free kick, which unfortunately for the visitors, ultimately amounts to nothing.

Rovers have looked very well-organised since their equaliser. Their tendency to improve as games wear on, which has been evident in most of their Europa League games this season, has proven to be the case again so far this evening.

Dennehy wasted a golden opportunity there. He steals possession away from the defender and finds himself through on goal, only to shoot weakly at the goalkeeper. Squaring it to Sheppard would have been the better option and the ex-Everton man let’s him know of his displeasure.

Thompson spills what should have been a routine catch and Murray makes a brilliant clearance off the line from Valdez’s shot. The goalkeeper can thus breathe a sigh of relief following his moment of madness.

GOAL FOR RUBIN KAZAN!

It’s Natcho, the player with the number 66 on his back. He shoots just outside the box and finds the corner of the net. Thompson was arguably at fault again, as his dive looked somewhat languorous.

Good decision by the referee. Ryazantsev plays the ball past Sullivan and dives in an attempt to win a free kick, receiving a booking for his troubles. If only refs had the courage to take such actions more often.

Rovers are coming under more pressure. Michael O’Neill would settle for the current scoreline going into the break, I’m sure.

HALF-TIME: RUBIN KAZAN 2-1 SHAMROCK ROVERS

It’s the same old story for Rovers in Europe: a decent performance, but one which has gone unrewarded so far at least.

If you don’t know much about Rovers’ opponents, you can read a brief guide to their background as a club by clicking here.

And the second half is underway…

BREAKING: In news elsewhere, Steve Bruce has been sacked as manager of Sunderland, according to Paolo Bandini and numerous other journalists. We’ll have further details up on the site shortly.

GOAL FOR RUBIN KAZAN!

Valdez is played through, beating the offside trap and smashing the ball into the net. Poor defending from Rovers.

Rovers are looking tired now. Perhaps the lack of competitive action of late is beginning to take its toll. Surely a substitution is imminent.

GOAL FOR RUBIN KAZAN!

The ball was clearly out of play before the cross, which Martins taps in. Incredibly, all six officials missed it, and Thompson is booked for his protests. Goal-line technology can’t come in soon enough.

That fourth goal really has taken the life out of the game. Shame the officials made that erroneous call.

SHAMROCK ROVERS DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION: O’Donnell for Finn and Kilduff for Paterson.

I also should mention that two-goal hero Valdez went off – much to the vistors’ relief presumably – just prior to Rubin’s fourth goal.

Martins produces a powerful shot from outside the box that goes just wide of the post. Rovers haven’t played badly, though it could yet become embarrassing.

Another Rovers free-kick that Rubin struggle to clear – they haven’t made the most of those type of opportunities.

A cross finds Kasaev, whose flick is saved relatively comfortably by Thompson.

ROVERS’ FINAL SUBSTITUTION: Twigg has come on to replace Turner.

The Rubin goalkeeper somewhat lackadaisically spills a cross and Sheppard’s resulting shot hits the bar and goes over. They really deserve a consolation on the basis of their performance, which has been by no means as poor as the scoreline suggests.

Since the game seems to be petering out, here’s a quick poll to keep you entertained:

Has Shamrock Rovers’ Europa League campaign been a success?

Could have been a penalty there for Rovers, but the referee adjudges the foul to have taken place outside the box. TV replays prove him right and Dennehy’s subsequent free kick goes well over.

FULL TIME: RUBIN KAZAN 4-1 SHAMROCK ROVERS

So it’s a similar story for Rovers. A manful display full of effort, but their opponents emphasised their extra bit of class ultimately, as they exposed weaknesses in the Rovers’ defence for the first goal in particular.

While Rovers have long since given up hope of qualification, an interesting situation is developing at the top of the group. Rubin’s victory moves them top on ten points, with PAOK (8 points) and Spurs (7 points) now trailing them. The game between the latter two teams this evening is likely to prove pivotal.

Over on TV3, Roddy Collins reckons Rovers can’t match the quality of teams like Rubin Kazan for a sustained period, indicating they need more consistency in their play.

Okay, that’s it from me as far as this game is concerned. I’ll be back shortly though to liveblog tonight’s Carling Cup action, so stay tuned.

Welcome to our liveblog. We”re underway here. Apologies for the delay, which was caused by technical difficulties.