Kenny on the double as missed penalty rescues Rovers
This was more than just another game for Shamrock Rovers.
It’s possible that Stephen Bradley’s players were insulated from the reality; the length of their contracts will shape the importance they place on the longterm angle. But everyone in the background at the club arrived in Tallaght Stadium last night with their eyes open. This is the gateway game, a tie they really could not afford to lose.
Rovers have earned a lot of money under Bradley, both on the pitch and in the transfer market, yet the precarious nature of football in this country meant that taking the bare minimum from Europe last year significantly contributed to an annual loss in excess of €2m. Defeat at the first hurdle was devastating.
So when Vikingur’s captain Nikolaj Hansen stood over a 98th-minute penalty that would have sent this game to extra-time – with the hosts down to 10 men – nightmare scenarios were flashing in front of Rovers eyes.
Hansen sent Leon Pohls the wrong way, but also sent the ball the wrong side of the post. It was the last kick of a dramatic evening.
Winning this tie means the Irish champions are guaranteed €1.7m from UEFA this year and three more ties. Even if Sparta Prague prove too strong in the next Champions League round, they’ll have a parachute to the Europa League and then the Europa Conference League. Three shots at group stage football and the €4m or so that comes with it.
Rovers were two up inside 20 minutes. Apprehension was unavoidable as a red card for Jack Byrne left the Hoops down to 10 men for the final 16 minutes plus the scheduled five of stoppage time. There was exasperation at the English team of officials as the pressure intensified, culminating with a Pico Lopes foul that placed the spotlight on Hansen. He couldn’t handle it.
Nerves
The resultant Rovers celebration unlocked a season’s worth of frustration.
Their nerves were frayed from the outset with a brave Lopes block required to deny Helgi Gudjonsson an opening goal inside two minutes. Vikingur were backed into odds-on before this game.
Maybe it was the 17 corners Rovers had to defend in the first leg, with 27pc possession.
But Rovers took plenty of encouragement from how they countered in that encounter, feeling they would pose Vikingur problems away from their astroturf surface. Iceland’s top team have a poor record on their travels in Europe.
Indeed, for all that the stats suggested Rovers were under siege seven days ago, they also came back with a hard luck story, with Johnny Kenny missing a late chance for the perfect smash and grab.
He was selected from the start here and was clearly determined to atone for that error. Kenny scored both goals, with Dylan Watts the creator on both occasions, his superb eighth-minute through ball for the Sligo native completely shifted the momentum.
Kenny cut inside his man and made no mistake. Watts showcased a difficult skill-set for the second, embarking on a mazy dribble before teeing up Kenny, who had more to do but found a way through the legs of an Icelandic defender into the bottom corner.
Rovers were in a dream position. Yet this is a side that has fallen off the pace domestically this term, with key men either injured or clearly below peak physical capability, so Vikingur kept probing to see if they could find that vulnerability.
A half-time double switch refreshed the legs and they had already missed an open goal before sub Hansen halved the deficit.
Bradley sent for Neil Farrugia and Darragh Burns and the recharged batteries helped to briefly turn the tide, but then Byrne picked up a second yellow for a foul after he was shoved off the ball.
The first caution, for throwing the ball away, had put him on the edge. Every Rovers person in the 7,632 crowd joined him there for the remainder.
But Rovers stayed afloat.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Pohls, Cleary, Lopes, Hoare; Honohan, Watts, O’Neill, Clarke (Farrugia 62); Byrne, Greene (Burns 65); Kenny (Grace 80). VIKINGUR: Jonsson, Gunnarsson, Ekroth, Vatnhamar, Fjoluson; Agnarsson, Punyed (Andrason 75), Sigurpalsson (Thordarson 74), Gudjonsson (Hanson 45); Ingimundarson, Djuric (Vilhjalmmson 45).