THIS WAS A game defined by two mistakes less than 10 minutes apart.
One was punished, the other not, and as a result Sparta Prague took the impetus from Shamrock Rovers.
They leave with a two-goal lead courtesy of goals from internationals Veljko Birmancevic from Serbia and Cechia’s Tomas Wiesner.
A dramatic double of chances for Josh Honahan in second-half injury time almost gave them a lifeline but he saw one close-range header superbly saved and then miscued a back-post shot inches wide.
It means that barring an historic result next week – no League of Ireland club has ever produced a two-goal turnaround in a European tie – it should be enough to see them through for a third-round clash with either FCSB (formerly Steaua Bucharest) or Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Their former manager, Robbie Keane, was among a record European attendance of 9,684 alongside new Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson.
It’s now looking more likely to be either NK Celje v Slovan Bratislava for Rovers in the Europa League, and they will rue those two first-half moments as a result.
Especially as they were the first to get a clear sight of the target.
It may have been 25 yards out but the goal was gaping with goalkeeper Peter Vindahl completely out of position after his error.
Neil Farrugia managed to take instant control of the misplaced ball out, but then needed to get it out of his feet quicker.
In the milliseconds that it took to do so, Mathias Ross managed to recover and close the gap sufficiently to make a stunning block with his outstretched leg in the air.
Farrugia was Rovers biggest threat, operating off the right but also tucking in centrally when required, and the hope was that one of his driving runs could help break the deadlock.
Instead, it was Sparta who took the lead on 38 minutes.
Dylan Watts’ undercooked pass inside his own area was intercepted, leading to Birmancevic scoring, but it was not the only error in the build up.
Rovers made eight passes inside and around their own 18-yard box and had been unable to beat the Sparta press. They continued to try and find a way but when goalkeeper Leon Pohls played a short, straight ball to Watts it was one pass too many.
Imanol Garcia De Albeniz had anticipated Watts’ square layoff to Daniel Cleary from the left and after his shot was well saved by Pohls the ball then ricocheted off Watts before Roberto Lopes’ scuffed clearance off the line fell perfectly for Birmancevic to drill home.
The Serbia international is just back on club duty after Euro 2024 and was then withdrawn at half-time for 40-times capped Slovakian Lukas Haraslin.
He quickly spun away from Watts with his back to goal and provided Jan Kuchta with a sight of goal three minutes after the re-start. He sliced his shot but was far more accurate with the cross that would produce the second on 65 minutes.
Captain Qazim Laci, who scored for Albania at the Euros, was replaced by Cechia international David Pavelka and it’s perhaps indicative of their strength that three of their subs had 56 international caps between them.
The second goal was expertly teed up by Kuchta. The half-volley finish from the excellent Wiesner who met it from the opposite side was equally impressive – even if Pohls did get his hands to the effort.
Rovers produced a final rally in injury time through Honohan and while there is still the second leg to play in Prague next week it was the Sparta players and staff who linked arms and bounced arm in arm in celebration with the small pocket of fans who made the journey to Dublin.
Shamrock Rovers: Pohls; Honohan, Cleary, Lopes (captain), Hoare, Clarke (Grace 84); Nugent, Watts, O’Neill, Farrugia (Burns 66); Kenny (Greene 66).
Sparta Prague: Vindahl; Vitik (Sorensen HT), Ross, Zeleny; Wiesner, Laci (captain) (Pavelka 62), Solbakken, Garcia De Albeniz; Tuci (Krasniqi 62), Kuchta, Birmancevic (Haraslin HT).
Referee: J Kooij (Ned).
Attendance: 9,684
Written by David Sneyd and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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