SLIGO ROVERS’ FIRST European outing since 2014 is over at the first hurdle as they lost out to Icelandic opposition FH in the Europe’s Conference League first qualifying round.
The hosts were trailing 1-0 heading into the second leg, with former Dundalk man Steven Lennon scoring the only game of the first leg.
Lennon slotted twice in the second leg to make it 3-0 on aggregate, with Johnny Kenny’s late penalty proving nothing more than a consolation.
Liam Buckley had to plan without Greg Bolger, who has been integral to the Bit O’Red’s season so far, following his dismissal in the first leg.
John Mahon was also unavailable, while Ed McGinty and Robbie McCourt also missed out through injury. Rovers have only ever won three games in Europe, and were up against an FH team who have played 70 European ties, winning 20 of them.
But, Hafnarfjordur’s poor league form – which sees them tenth in a 12-team league – would have given Rovers confidence, despite the fact that they were behind heading into the second leg.
The game featured Andorran officials, with 22-year-old Marta San Juan Casado on the line, her debut in Uefa male competitions having made two appearances for the Andorran national team.
The hosts started the game excellently, with the trio of Walter Figueira, Jordan Gibson and Romeo Parkes causing the visitors a host of problems. Parkes should have given Rovers the lead when he was played in by Figueira, but he dragged his shot wide of the target.
The Icelandic side were having to deal with a sustained Sligo attack, but did enough to hold them off. Liam Buckley’s side were dealt a hammer blow on 42 minutes when FH took the lead.
Vok Oskar Dimitrijevic won a free deep in the Sligo half, in somewhat puzzling circumstances. The resulting free-kick was eventually hammered into the back of the net by Lennon, to make it 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate.
Hafnarfjordur extended their lead immediately after the interval when Regan Donelon was adjudged to have fouled Jonaton Ingi Jonsson in the box, with Lennon stepping up to dispatch.
The Bit O’Red were now 3-0 down on aggregate with it all to do.
Faroese international Gunnar Nielsen pulled off a superb stop to deny Seamas Keogh on his debut. With less than 10 minutes left, Rovers were handed a lifeline as they were awarded a penalty when 18-year-old Kenny was brought down in the box, with the Riverstown man slotting past Nielsen to bring the aggregate score to 3-1.
Johnny Kenny celebrates his goal. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
Rovers tried their hardest to undo FH’s impressive defending in the closing minutes, but the Icelanders stood strong and set up a tie with Rosenborg next Thursday.
Sligo Rovers: Luke McNicholas, Lewis Banks, Garry Buckley, Shane Blaney, Regan Donelon (Regan Donelon, 72), Walter Figueira (Adam McDonnell, 80), David Cawley (Danny Kane, 72), Niall Morahan (Seamas Keogh, 80), Jordan Gibson, Ryan DeVries (Johnny Kenny, 59) Romeo Parkes.
FH: Gunnar Nielsen, Hordur Ingi Gunnarsson, Petur Vidarssin, Eggert Gunnþór Jónsson, Steven Lennon, Vok Oskar Dimitrijevic Matthías Vilhjálmsson, Björn Daníel Sverrisson, Jónatan Ingi Jónsson, Guðmundur Kristjánsson, Guðmann Þórisson.
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Sligo Rovers crash out of Europe at the first hurdle
Sligo Rovers 1
FH 2
FH win 3-1 on aggregate
SLIGO ROVERS’ FIRST European outing since 2014 is over at the first hurdle as they lost out to Icelandic opposition FH in the Europe’s Conference League first qualifying round.
The hosts were trailing 1-0 heading into the second leg, with former Dundalk man Steven Lennon scoring the only game of the first leg.
Lennon slotted twice in the second leg to make it 3-0 on aggregate, with Johnny Kenny’s late penalty proving nothing more than a consolation.
Liam Buckley had to plan without Greg Bolger, who has been integral to the Bit O’Red’s season so far, following his dismissal in the first leg.
John Mahon was also unavailable, while Ed McGinty and Robbie McCourt also missed out through injury. Rovers have only ever won three games in Europe, and were up against an FH team who have played 70 European ties, winning 20 of them.
But, Hafnarfjordur’s poor league form – which sees them tenth in a 12-team league – would have given Rovers confidence, despite the fact that they were behind heading into the second leg.
The game featured Andorran officials, with 22-year-old Marta San Juan Casado on the line, her debut in Uefa male competitions having made two appearances for the Andorran national team.
The hosts started the game excellently, with the trio of Walter Figueira, Jordan Gibson and Romeo Parkes causing the visitors a host of problems. Parkes should have given Rovers the lead when he was played in by Figueira, but he dragged his shot wide of the target.
The Icelandic side were having to deal with a sustained Sligo attack, but did enough to hold them off. Liam Buckley’s side were dealt a hammer blow on 42 minutes when FH took the lead.
Vok Oskar Dimitrijevic won a free deep in the Sligo half, in somewhat puzzling circumstances. The resulting free-kick was eventually hammered into the back of the net by Lennon, to make it 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate.
Hafnarfjordur extended their lead immediately after the interval when Regan Donelon was adjudged to have fouled Jonaton Ingi Jonsson in the box, with Lennon stepping up to dispatch.
The Bit O’Red were now 3-0 down on aggregate with it all to do.
Faroese international Gunnar Nielsen pulled off a superb stop to deny Seamas Keogh on his debut. With less than 10 minutes left, Rovers were handed a lifeline as they were awarded a penalty when 18-year-old Kenny was brought down in the box, with the Riverstown man slotting past Nielsen to bring the aggregate score to 3-1.
Rovers tried their hardest to undo FH’s impressive defending in the closing minutes, but the Icelanders stood strong and set up a tie with Rosenborg next Thursday.
Sligo Rovers: Luke McNicholas, Lewis Banks, Garry Buckley, Shane Blaney, Regan Donelon (Regan Donelon, 72), Walter Figueira (Adam McDonnell, 80), David Cawley (Danny Kane, 72), Niall Morahan (Seamas Keogh, 80), Jordan Gibson, Ryan DeVries (Johnny Kenny, 59) Romeo Parkes.
FH: Gunnar Nielsen, Hordur Ingi Gunnarsson, Petur Vidarssin, Eggert Gunnþór Jónsson, Steven Lennon, Vok Oskar Dimitrijevic Matthías Vilhjálmsson, Björn Daníel Sverrisson, Jónatan Ingi Jónsson, Guðmundur Kristjánsson, Guðmann Þórisson.
Referee: Luis Teixeira (Portugal).
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Eliminated europa conference league LOI Sligo Rovers