Shamrock Rovers 1-1 APOEL
10-man Shamrock Rovers started their Conference League campaign with a battling 1-1 draw with APOEL Nicosia at Tallaght Stadium.
Dylan Watts was the hero with his headed equaliser in added time at the end of the second half to send the over 7,000 supporters in west Dublin into raptures.
Under pressure from the start, Rovers gradually began to repel the Cypriot outfit – second seeds visiting fourth seeds – and started the second half brightly. But a red card for Neil Farrugia inside five minutes of the restart of the second half put Rovers on the back foot.
Stephen Bradley would have been targeting a point in this one as the Hoops look to go after a spot in the knockout stages of the competition, and the resolve his side showed will be a massive boost as they continue to battle on two fronts.
It didn’t look like it was going to be one of those nights early on.
Leon Pohls was forced into a save inside 55 seconds as Marquinhos’ shot took a nick off a defender, and nearly wrong-footed the German. The Cypriots were absolutely dominant in the opening 10 minutes, with Rovers looking unsure of themselves on the ball.
It should have been a goal on 17 minutes as the lively Marquinhos flashed an effort wide of the right post from just inside the box.
Rovers, though, were absorbing massive pressure; a snapshot stat on 20 minutes had the visitors having completed 187 passes to the hosts’ 28.
Rovers finally had their first shot on 23 minutes as Johnny Kenny did well to cut inside former Serbian international Radosav Petrovic. Referee Jérémie Pignard had raised his hand for advantage as Kenny pulled the trigger, but he was nearly too honest, as the shot soared over the bar; a free kick on the edge of the box might have been more potent.
As the half wore on though, The Hoops were able to take a bit of intensity out of the game, and gradually push APOEL further up the park.
And they got to half time all square.
Just over a minute after the restart Rovers had their best chance to that point as Kenny got in behind the cover, but his effort was too close to Vid Belec.
But if there was a chance that Rovers might cause a real surprise and gone and won the game, it was killed within five minutes of the restart.
Farrugia, who had been booked in the first half for getting involved in some afters with Xavier Quintilla, was sent off after catching Marquinhos as he tried to get by him.
It forced Rovers back into a deeper, more defensive set up, and a half of absorbing pressure was suddenly on the cards. Almost immediately, Dan Cleary got a crucial touch to head Sergio Tejera’s strike over the bar.
But the goal wasn’t long coming.
Konstantinos Laifis forced a fantastic save from a Pohls, but the corner saw the deadlock broken as the defender rose highest to head home five six yards.
The Cypriots continued to dominate possession, but out of nowhere Rovers were nearly level with a quarter of an hour to go. Kenny once again timed his run to perfection, getting on the end of Josh Honohan’s ball through.
He was challenged but stayed up but, having been forced wide, he could only smash his effort straight at Belec. Similar to his chance in the first half, a bit more street smarts might have seen him go down and win the penalty.
With five minutes to go, Cleary got his wires crossed and gifted the ball to Marquinhos on the edge of his own box. Somehow, the Brazilian failed to score with the goal at his mercy.
And Rovers took full advantage as Watts got on the end of Jack Byrne’s corner from the right to earn the Hoops a point on day one.
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls; Cleary, Lopes, Grace, Honohan, Poom (O’Sullivan 54), O’Neill (Towell 64), Farrugia, Mandroiu (Greene 77), Nugent (J Byrne 77), Kenny (Watts 77).
Yellow cards: Farrugia 42, 50, Towell 88
Red Card: Farrugia 50
APOEL: Belec; Susic (Cheabake 72), Petrovic, Laitis (Dvali 88), Quintilla, Kostadinov, Abagna (Kattirtzis 61), Ndongala (Corbu 88), Tejera, Marquinhos, El Arabi (Bah 72).
Yellow cards: Abagna 36, Quintilla 42
Referee: Jérémie Pignard (FRA)
Attendance: 7,177
