Shamrock Rovers 0
Djurgardens 0
SHAMROCK ROVERS’ DEBUT in the Europa Conference League ended in a goalless draw with Swedish side Djurgarden at Tallaght Stadium, a night to prove that while Rovers won’t be given anything easily in this group, they won’t be playing the role of generous opponents, either.
Rovers might have won this game with one of a few chances they carved out in the second-half, but Djurgardens spurned a glorious chance in the first-half and Rovers ended the game looking jaded.
All of Jack Byrne, Rory Gaffney and Graham Burke started on the bench as Stephen Bradley opted to sacrifice some stardust for solidity from the start, with Dylan Watts and teenager Justin Ferizaj starting ahead of Gary O’Neill and Chris McCann in midfield as Aaron Greene led the line. Djurgardens, meanwhile, rotated their starting team by swapping in their second-choice goalkeeper, and replaced key defensive midfielder Rasmus Schuller with the more attacking Besard Sabovic.
Sabovic was a threat from the edge of the box, and he saw an early shot blocked in the penalty area by Gary O’Neill. Djurgardens started with an intensity that initially threw Rovers, though they slowly clawed their way to an even-footing thanks largely to Chris McCann’s assurance in midfield. But their passing was blunted as they got toward the Djurgardens box, struggling for penetration and too often resorting to long balls in behind which Greene chased gamely but fruitlessly.
Rovers lost Sean Hoare to injury after only 11 minutes and his replacement Dan Cleary veered on the precipice off a nightmare when he fell over the ball and in stages under no pressure midway into his own half. Striker Victor Edvardsen pounced on the loose ball, but inexplicably elected not to play a simple pass to Asoro on his outside, instead shooting tamely at Alan Mannus from a needlessly long range.
It was early in the second half when one of those Rovers’ balls over the top did work, thanks to some timorous defending. Piotr Johansson left his back-pass much too short, allowing Greene nab possession. Greene went wide of the goalkeeper – too wide – but held possession and fed it back to Watts, whose shot was saved brilliantly by Vasyutin. Now it was Rovers’ tempo that threatened to overwhelm, and Djurgardens reacted on the hour mark with a quadruple sub, beefing up the midfield by introducing Schuller among them.
Rovers, however, sent for the cavalry, and on came Byrne, Gaffney, and Sean Kavanagh. Byrne’s influence was instantly apparent, dropping a beautiful pass over the top of the Djurgardens defence for Gaffney, whose shot was blocked by an initially flustered goalkeeper. Neil Farrugia then replaced Finn – making a LOI record 55th European appearance – and tore down the right wing to stir havoc in the Djurgardens box, with a bout of pinball ending in Vasuytin blocking Watts’ snapshot from close range.
Those chances thwarted, the closing quarter became an exercise in survival. The loud travelling fans howled for a penalty when Haris Radetinac went to ground in the box after a tangle with Lyons, with the referee unmoved and no VAR in operation to offer a reprieve. Rovers were rattled, however, struggling to hold onto the ball and Grace was forced into a perfect tackle in the penalty area after a sloppy give-away. Bradley could hardly hide his frustration on the touchline at a succession of long balls and a press that became ragged and misaligned.
His side held on, however, and this was an opening-night to show that Rovers’ ambitions of qualifying from the group are by no means far-fetched.
Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Sean Gannon, Sean Hoare (Dan Cleary, 11′), Lee Grace; Ronan Finn (captain) (Neil Farrugia, 69′); Chris McCann (Sean Kavanagh, 60′), Gary O’Neill, Dylan Watts; Andy Lyons; Justin Ferizaj (Jack Byrne, 60′), Aaron Greene (Rory Gaffney, 60′)
Djurgardens: Aleksandr Vasyutin; Piotr Johansson, Marcus Danielson, Hjalmar Ekdal, Pierre Bengtsson (Elias Andersson, 60′); Besard Sabovic, Hampus Finndell (Emmanual Banda, 60′), Magnus Eriksson (captain) (Rasums Schuller, 60′) Joel Asoro (Haris Radetinac, 60′), Victor Edvardsen, Gustav Wikheim (Amadou Doumbouya, 90+5′)
Referee: Ivar Orri Kristjansson (ISL)
Attendance: 6,330
