Champions League second qualifying round, second leg
Sparta Prague 4
Shamrock Rovers 2
Sparta Prague win 6-2 on aggregate
THE EUROPA LEAGUE beckons for Shamrock Rovers.
Sparta Prague were a class above, the scoreline says as much, but there will still be regrets from both legs of this Champions League qualifier.
What Hoops boss Stephen Bradley cannot allow is for those feelings to linger for the remainder of a European campaign that still offers hope of making this a memorable season.
Rovers will now meet Celje in the third qualifying round of the second-tier competition after the Slovenians lost 6-1 to Slovan Bratislava.
The nature of the champions’ path and successfully navigating the first-round of these qualifiers means there will also be a further round of play-off action as a fallback to reach the Europa Conference League group stages.
That would be a success for Rovers.
They will have to defend better to get there, though.
Top scorer Johnny Kenny may have been an injury blow for this game but a superb double from Aaron Greene to twice level on the night at least provided hope. His finish from a tight angle in the first half and a header early in the second gave the travelling fans something to celebrate.
Poor play at the other end – conceding from two set-pieces – killed any momentum.
Last week, in Tallaght, it was the tale of two mistakes when these sides met; one was punished and the other was not.
For this second leg in Prague, the margins were not as fine but the moments that defined the outcome will still be scrutinised.
Already trailing 2-0 from Dublin, the outcome was put beyond doubt when Victor Olatunji headed home from six yards after 29 minutes.
Greene responded with an excellent finish after being sent through over the top by Dylan Watts’ well-timed pass. The striker rounded goalkeeper Peter Vindahl and while the angle on the left narrowed, Greene’s precise finish found its way into the net.
Neil Farrugia then had a glorious chance to give Rovers the lead on the night when he broke into the box but could only scuff his shot wide.
When centre back Mathias Ross glanced a simple header home inside the six-yard box from a corner four minutes before the break Sparta again reasserted their control.
It was tested briefly in a 60-second period after the interval. When Josh Honohan delivered a whipped cross from the right, Greene’s header back in the direction from where it came as he peeled to the back post
Any optimism soon evaporated when Asger Sorensen spun away from Lee Grace to meet a corner with a free header in the 48th minute.
Further gloss was added to the scoreline for the hosts when substitute Indrit Tuchi drilled home from the edge of the area on 71 minutes.
Grace struck the Sparta bar when he met Jack Byrne’s inswinging free five minutes later but Leon Pohls also had to do his part with a close-range save from Jan Kuchta after he had a clear sight of goal 12 yards out.
Any hope of a historic comeback was long gone, though, as attention now turns to the Europa League.
Sparta Prague: Vindahl; Ross, Pavelka (captain), Sorensen (Zeleny 63); Wiesner (Suchomel 84), Sadilek, Laci (Solbakken 63), Imanol; Danek (Tuci 69), Olatunji (Kuchta 69), Krasniqi.
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls; Honohan, Hoare (Cleary 24), Lopes (captain), Grace, Clarke (Burns 63); Farrugia (Poom 63), Watts (Byrne 63), O’Neill, Nugent; Greene (Burke 74).
