Slovan Bratislava 2-0 Shamrock Rovers
Hello, and welcome to this evening’s liveblog.
It’s a big day for Shamrock Rovers, as they make their first appearance in the Champions League since 2012.
It’s also now 10 years since their famous run to the Europa League group stages.
They face stern opposition in Slovakia tonight and will be considered underdogs for the tie.
Slovan Bratislava earned a comprehensive 4-1 win over Dundalk in the Europa League qualifying stage two years ago.
Many of their starting XI from that day remain at the club, while Sean Hoare and Sean Gannon, who featured for the Lilywhites, are now on the books at Rovers.
Kick-off is 5.30pm Irish time and the game is available to view via a stream on the official Shamrock Rovers website.
Rovers are unchanged from the team that started in their 3-1 win over Dundalk last Friday.
☘️ 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 ☘️
— Shamrock Rovers FC ☘️ (@ShamrockRovers) July 7, 2021
🟢 Unchanged 11 from the Dundalk game
🟢 Burke returns to the bench
🟢 Gaffney leads the line#RoversInEurope pic.twitter.com/xzbyXS8h5u
“We have two little girls. Flori is nearly two and Meadow is five and a half. They are amazing. To be honest, they give me the drive now. I always had the drive to go over to England. That was my main focus — to play in England and play for Ireland. Now, I have a different drive; when I get up, every morning, it is them.”
Check out an in-depth interview with Rovers midfielder Richie Towell ahead of today’s game.
Who do you think will progress in this tie?
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“When we sat down a few years ago, that was part of the thinking of how we play. It can’t be such a big contrast from domestic to Europe. Because obviously, that’s where you want to play. You want to play at this level, but it can’t be a complete contrast to what we do every week. The players know and as a group, we believe in what we do. I think we’ve seen that in Europe over the last few years and that will be the case [this evening]. We’ll go and play our game, and hopefully, that’s enough.”
Stephen Bradley spoke to the media ahead of the game. Check out the full interview here.
We’re underway…
Slovan have started this game on the front foot.
Rovers have been pinned back into their half in the early stages.
Early chance for Slovan.
Rovers are caught out by a ball over the top.
Rafael Ratão breaks the offside trap and gets in behind the defence but his header goes wide.
Moments later, down the other end, Scales’ cross finds Gannon, who takes a touch before dragging a shot wide.
Another half-chance for Rovers. It falls nicely for Towell, who forces a save from the Slovan goalkeeper.
Moments later, Henty goes on a purposeful run before testing Mannus with a powerful shot.
The game has settled down now after an action-filled few minutes.
It’s been quite scrappy and Rovers have been uncharacteristically wasteful in possession at times.
Aleksandar Čavrić has serious pace on the counter.
He’s just sped away from Lee Grace down the left, but the defender recovers well to make the tackle and clear.
Slovan continue look a real threat with their pace in behind the Rovers defence.
Amid a nervy moment, Lopes tries to play it back to Mannus but ends up accidentally putting it out of play for a corner.
Slovan continue to dictate the play with Rovers content to drop back and keep it tight.
The visitors have defended relatively well so far, with no clear-cut chances created.
As I type, both teams take a water break.
SLOVAN 1-0 SHAMROCK ROVERS (RATAO 28)
Slovan take the lead.
A dangerous De Marco cross is lofted in from the left and Ratao manages to get to the ball just ahead of Grace, and his powerful downward header beats Mannus.
That’s probably deserved, as they’ve been the better side on the balance of play so far.
Scales finds himself in a decent position on the left, but Chovan does well to gather the cross under pressure from Gaffney.
Rovers have shown a bit more attacking intent since going behind.
Rabiu gets booked for cynically taking down Grace.
From the ensuing free kick out wide, Chovan has to parry away Finn’s delivery for a corner.
Towell’s cross finds Gaffney, but his touch lets him down and the ball goes out of play.
There’s not much between the sides at the moment, with the hosts seldom threatening since the goal.
HALF-TIME: SLOVAN 1-0 SHAMROCK ROVERS
So half-time and it’s Slovan who have the advantage.
The scoreline is probably a fair reflection of how the game has gone.
The hosts have edged it and were on top particularly in the opening 30 minutes.
Rovers came into the game more as the half progressed, and had half chances through shots from Sean Gannon and Richie Towell, but struggled to create much else.
For the most part, though, the encounter has been tight with the teams looking relatively evenly matched, and Stephen Bradley won’t be too disappointed with how the match has panned out though his side have been sloppy and could be better on the ball at times.
The second half has begun…
SLOVAN 2-0 SHAMROCK ROVERS (RATAO 47)
It’s the worst possible start to the second half for Shamrock Rovers.
A cross deflects kindly for Ratao amid a goalmouth scramble. He manages to get his outstretched foot to the ball of Mannus and slides it home.
If they didn’t already, you get the sense that Rovers need a goal now to avoid coming home with a result that diminishes their chances considerably.
Henty fires the ball powerfully into the net from the edge of the area, but it’s ruled out.
His arm brushed against the face of Lopes in the build-up and the referee saw it as an infringement.
Rovers are pressing far higher up the pitch since the concession of that second goal.
They look like a team who know they need a goal to keep the tie alive, though they must be careful they aren’t caught out, with Slovan’s pace on the counter likely to become more of a factor as the visitors search for a way back into the game.
Slovan make a change.
Henty is replaced by Vladimír Weiss, who was at the Euros with Slovakia only a few weeks ago.
Gaffney squares it to Towell in space.
However, the midfielder’s low shot is dealt with comfortably by Chovan.
Watts, Burke and Mandroiu are all coming on for Rovers.
They replace Gannon, Towell and Greene.
As often happens after a raft of substitutions, the game has become a bit flat.
As I type, there are more changes, with Kankava and Cavric departing, while Zmrhal and Hrncar have come on in their stead for Slovan.
Burke plays a hopeful ball forward that drifts out of play.
It’s been a hot day in Slovakia and some Rovers players are starting to tire.
They need to play with greater intensity if they are to reduce the deficit ahead of the second leg and end this match on a high note.
Slovan look comfortable at the moment and still seem the more likely of the two sides to score.
Most recently, Weiss sprinted on goal and forced a save from Mannus, though the offside flag was raised, so it would not have counted.
It’s perhaps games like this where the loss of Jack Byrne is most glaring.
The visitors have lacked a cutting edge in attack throughout, although the recently introduced likes of Burke and Mandroiu will still hope they can provide it.
While invariably looking comfortable, Slovan haven’t been especially dominant in this game.
They’ve simply been clinical and capitalised on the rare occasions the visitors have switched off slightly at the back.
There will be three minutes of stoppage time…
Two final changes for Slovan.
Ratao and Ibrahim are replaced by Lichy and Strelec.
PENALTY TO SLOVAN!
PENALTY SAVED!
FULL-TIME: SLOVAN 2-0 SHAMROCK ROVERS
What a finish!
Slovan countered and Weiss sprinted through on goal before Finn was adjudged to have tripped him in the area, receiving a booking as a result.
Weiss then stepped up to take the penalty, but Mannus guessed correctly and made the save to keep alive Rovers’ faint hopes of progression alive.
