In the recent Conference League match, Shamrock Rovers managed an unexpected draw against Apoel, thanks to a very late equalising strike by Dylan Watts. Playing with only 10 men in most of the second portion, Rovers seemed on the back foot for significant parts of the match, outshone by the Champions of Cyprus at the Tallaght Stadium with an audience of 7111 spectators.
At the second minute into extra time, Jack Byrne set Watts, another substitute, to head the ball stunningly towards the goal from a rare corner for the Rovers. A stunning score at the south stand kept the hope alive for the Rovers in the opening day of the new League Phase.
The draw earned the Rovers an initial bonus of €133,000, adding to the approximate €4 million they’ve made so far thanks to their European outing this season. They encountered a considerable setback last Friday, suffering a 3-0 defeat against St Patrick’s Athletic. As a consequence, manager Stephen Bradley made substantial changes to the starting lineup.
Watts, Graham Burke, and Marc McNulty were all sidelined, the last two due to Burke’s wife going into labour and McNulty was benched. Taking their spots were Johnny Kenny, midfield duo Darragh Nugent and Markus Poom, however, Byrne was not included in the starting lineup. Byrne had spent a significant chunk of last year with Apoel.
The game began on a high note with Apoel’s multinational team, consisting of players from eight different countries and totalling over 200 caps, dominating the early phase. They made their presence felt with swift moves and passes, unsettling the Rovers in the early goings.
In the football match, Marquinhos from Brazil got a chance to score for APOEL, but his shot just missed the goal in the 17th minute. The opportunity was set up by Moroccan international, Youssef El-Araba. Minutes later, Kenny showed his grit and almost scored for Rovers but his shot went straight over the top bar.
Although most of the play occurred in the opponents’ third, Marquinhos along with Dieumerci Ndongla of APOEL couldn’t quite find the back of the net, despite having frequent possession. However, APOEL didn’t manage to create a promising offensive opportunity in the first half and Rovers finally got to control the ball as the half time approached.
Even after the break, the first target was hit by Rovers about a minute into the second half following a pass from Gary O’Neill to Kenny. However, their efforts were thwarted by the Slovenian goalkeeper, Vid Belec.
Unfortunately for Rovers, Neil Farrugia got sent off after three minutes for a second yellow card offence on Marquinhos. Dan Cleary then courageously blocked a shot by Sergio Tejera, giving APOEL their stride back.
Kenny made a dash from his half but couldn’t get past Pohls who saved the goal impressively, denying Konstantinos Laifis’s header. After catching a short break, the struggling Rovers defence further conceded a goal to APOEL. Tejera found Laifis through a corner kick, resulting in a successful header into the net in the 59th minute of the game.
Rovers found momentum on their counter-attacks directed by Kenny, facilitated by Danny Mandroiu’s effort in the 74th minute which resulted in goalkeeper Belec being put to work. Rovers summoned Byrne, Watts, and Aaron Greene for the last 15 minutes in an assertive move to chase the match.
While APOEL missed the chance to double the lead in the 85th minute due to Marquinhos’s miscalculated shot after Cleary’s slip, they soon regretted it as midfielder Watts scored during the additional time, bringing some late cheer to the Rovers.
For Shamrock Rovers, the line-up was as follows: Pohls in goal; the defence line composed of Cleary, Lopes, Grace and Honohan; O’Neill and Farrugia, with Poom making way for O’Sullivan in the 54th minute and Towell coming on for O’Neill in the 64th; Mandroiu, who was replaced by Greene in the 77th minute, and Nugent whose spot was taken by Byrne in the same minute; and finally Kenny, who was subbed off for Watts in the 77th.
On the other side, Apoel’s team had Belec in goal, the defenders were Susic, who was replaced by Cheabake in the 72nd minute, Petrovic, Laifis, who made way for Dvali in the 88th minute, and Quintilla; Midfield featured Kostadinov, and Abagna who was replaced by Kattirtzis in the 61st. Forwards were Ndongala, who was subbed off for Corbu in the 88th minute, Tejera, Marquinhos, and up front was El-Arabi, who made way for Bah in the 72nd minute.
The referee for the match was Jérémie Pignard hailing from France and the game drew a crowd of 7,111 spectators.