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Date Time League Season
8 September 2022 8:00 pm UEFA Conference League 2022/23

Match Report

Shamrock Rovers draw with Djurgardens in Dublin in UECL

Djurgardens held Shamrock Rovers to a scoreless draw at the Tallaght Stadium as the Irish side claimed their first point in European group stage competition.

Rovers grew into the game and were the more dominant side in the second half after withstanding an early storm from the Swedish team visitors. Despite having opportunities to win and claim all three points and the prize money associated with it they were unable to break through because of the excellent goalkeeping of Aleksandr Vasyutin that blocked their way at every turn.

The away side set the tone early by putting heavy pressure on the Shamrock Rovers' defence in an effort to score early. The best of the initial opportunities came to Hampus Finndell, who collected the ball on the edge of the box and struck it on the half-volley with Alan Mannus denying him with a fine save.

Victor Edvardsen stole the ball from Daniel Cleary, who had slipped, and he was free to take another shot on Mannus, but his effort was easily saved as Djurgardens continued to try to punish unforced errors from the home side. That was as best as it got as Rovers settled into the contest. 

The best opportunity for Shamrock Rovers in the first half came when Sabovic with some poor ball control and had it stolen from him by Dylan Watts. The Rovers playmaker then produced a fantastic shot on the edge of the box that just missed. This game started to open up and Rovers eventually took advantage of any chances given to them.

Aaron Green had the Hoops a great opportunity to score early in the second half after evading the Djurgardens' defence. However, Green's angle to goal was too tight, so he passed the ball back to Finn, who finally passed it to O'Neill, who forced an excellent save from Vasyutin.

The Russian goalkeeper was to deny Rovers once again when he saw Dylan Watts turn in the area after Farrugia made a burst into the box and Watts' shot was denied by the rushing keeper. Shamrock Rovers had one final opportunity to score, but Aleksandr Vasyutin once again made another stop and parried Sean Kavanagh's long-range shot to deny Rovers a historic three points late on.

If anyone doubted that Rovers couldn’t compete at this level a marker has well and truly been placed. 

Shamrock Rovers

1Alan Mannus Goalkeeper
2Sean Gannon Defender
3Sean Hoare 6 Defender
5Lee Grace Defender
7Dylan Watts Midfielder
8Ronan Finn 23 Midfielder
9Aaron Greene 20 Forward
16Gary O’Neill Midfielder 49'
21Justin Ferizaj 29 Midfielder
22Andy Lyons Defender
26Chris McCann 11 Midfielder
25Leon Pohls Goalkeeper
30Toms Leitis Goalkeeper
6Daniel Cleary 3 Defender
10Graham Burke Forward
11Sean Kavanagh 26 Defender
14Simon Power Midfielder
18Viktor Serdeniuk Midfielder
20Rory Gaffney 9 Forward 84'
23Neil Farrugia 8 Midfielder
28Gideon Tetteh Forward
29Jack Byrne 21 Midfielder
38Aidomo Emakhu Midfielder

Djurgardens

15Aleksandr Vasyutin Goalkeeper
2Piotr Johansson Defender
3Hjalmar Ekdal Defender
7Magnus Eriksson 6 Forward
10Joel Asoro 9 Forward
13Hampus Finndell 12 Midfielder
14Besard Sabovic Midfielder
16Victor Edvardsen Forward
19Pierre Bengtsson 8 Defender
23Gustav Wikheim 25 Midfielder
33Marcus Danielson Defender
35Jacob Zetterström Goalkeeper
40André Picornell Goalkeeper
4Jesper Löfgren Defender
6Rasmus Schüller 7 Midfielder 81'
8Elias Andersson 19 Midfielder
9Haris Radetinac 10 Midfielder
12Emmanuel Banda 13 Midfielder
17Karl Holmberg Forward
25Amadou Doumbouya 23 Midfielder
  • 90'

    FULL TIME: Djurgardens held Shamrock Rovers to a scoreless draw at the Tallaght Stadium as the Irish side claimed their first point in the European group stage competition. Rovers grew into the game and were the more dominant side in the second half after withstanding an early storm from the Swedish team visitors. Despite having opportunities to win and claim all three points and the prize money associated with it they were unable to break through because of the excellent goalkeeping of Aleksandr Vasyutin that blocked their way at every turn.

  • 90'

    A late change for the away side: Out goes Wikheim and in comes Doumbouya

  • 90'

    Some interesting stats from tonight: Shamrock Rovers 79% pass completion rate, 83% for the visitors.

  • 90'

    Sean Kavanagh strikes a shot from distance with Aleksandr Vasyutin gathering it on the second attempt.

  • 90'

    Coming into the final minutes of this game and there is five added minutes here in Tallaght - will there be a winner?

  • 84'

    Gaffney is penalised for a foul on Radetinac and gets a yellow card.

  • 81'

    Schüller shows his frustration with a foul on O'Neill and gets a yellow card.

  • 73'

    Farrugia has a shot en route to goal blocked by Schüller to take the sting out of it before Vasyutin gathers the ball up.

  • 70'

    SAVE: What a stop by Vasyutin as the Russian keeper sees Dylan Watts turn in the area following a bursting run into the box from Farrugia and his shot was Watts shot was well blocked by the keeper.

  • 67'

    SUB: Neil Farrugia comes on for Ronan Finn as Stephen Bradley looks to change his sides shape in the second half.

  • 66'

    Gaffney just on is causing lots of issues up front as expected - he is getting in behind the Djurgardens defence and trying to test their keeper.

  • 64'

    SUB: For Shamrock Rovers Chris McCann, Justin Ferizaj, and Aaron Greene come off as Sean Kavanagh, Jack Byrne, and Rory Gaffney come into the game.

  • 64'

    SUB: For Djurgardens out go Bengtsson, Asoro, Eriksson and Finndell and Andersson, Schüller, Banda and Radetinac enter the game.

  • 57'

    It looks as if Djurgardens are throwing the dice here - they look to make making anything up to three changes to freshen things up here.

  • 49'

    Gary O’Neill gets a yellow card for a foul.

  • 47'

    CHANCE: Aaron Green breaks free of the Djurgardens and he round the keeper but the angle is too tight, he passes it back to Finn and the ball then comes to O'Neill who forces an excellent save from Vasyutin. This is a good opening few minutes from the home side.

  • 46'

    SECOND HALF: We are back underway at Tallaght. This game is well in the melting pot at this stage.

  • 45'

    HALF TIME: A bright start from Djurgardens has seen it be quiet enough from the Swedish side who while have threatened haven't given Alan Mannus too much hassle in goals apart from a few routine saves. All in all Rovers grew into the contest and will be content with their performance. Changes in the side to add further creative and attacking flair may be needed.

  • 45'

    CHANCE: A second ball from a free kick is sent into Marcus Danielson but his head is well saved by Mannus.

  • 45'

    One added minute here in Tallaght.

  • 38'

    CHANCE: Sabovic was poor there and got picked off by Dylan Watts and the Rovers playmaker hits an excellent shot on the edge of the area that just goes over, he finally got into a pocket of space but had to be quick.

  • 35'

    SAVE: Victor Edvardsen picks the ball off Daniel Cleary who slipped he was free to take a strike on Mannus but his shot was easily saved.

  • 30'

    Shamrock Rovers have an opportunity to attack from a corner but the ball is easily gathered by Aleksandr Vasyutin the surprising debutant goalkeeper for Djurgardens

  • 27'

    The ball was sent into the Shamrock Rovers area from a free kick and Besard Sabovic picked the ball up on the edge of the area but the ball struck his arm and the referee stops play for a free kick to the home side.

  • 21'

    SAVE: Hampus Finndell collects the ball on the edge of the area and strikes it on the half volley and Mannus saves it on the second attempt.

  • 17'

    Shamrock Rovers are settling into this tie - they haven't had a sight on goal as of yet but they are enjoying more periods of possession and looking to make Djurgardens work for the ball more.

  • 12'

    SUB: Sean Hoare replaces Daniel Cleary in a straight centre back swap. Cleary signed for Rovers after leaving St. Johnstone during the summer transfer window.

  • 11'

    Looks like Sean Hoare's game is over - he is after coming off and Daniel Cleary is set to come on. The pair played for Dundalk in the Europa League in 2020.

  • 5'

    There is a lot of pressure from the away side with another cross going in with Marcus Danielson the intended target only for him to mistime his run. This Djurgardens side looks like they are the real deal and this is a step up in class.

  • 3'

    CLOSE: A free kick sent into the Shamrock Rovers area was headed down excellently by Gustav Wikheim and Marcus Danielson was ready to toe poke it home only for a last-ditch clearance from Sean Hoare.

  • 2'

    Grace and Mannus have a miscommunication and Joel Asoro was nearly one on one with the Hoops keeper but there was last-minute clearance. The Swedish side is looking to get an early break here.

  • KICK OFF: We are underway at Tallaght - a big night for both clubs.

  • There is a minute's silence before tonight's game - it is in memory of the three children that died in Tallaght last Sunday.

  • And here comes the teams: The Tallaght Stadium - a venue for some massive historic European games looks to host another one. Shamrock Rovers are looking to get their first win in the Group stage of a European competition. Rover is filled with serial winners - let's see if they can get a big one tonight.

  • Ronan Finn - Record Breaker: The Hoops skipper makes his 55th appearance in European competition this evening and in doing so breaks the record for the most by a League of Ireland player.

  • "We have to make sure we are switched on - or we will get punished" Stephen Bradley on tonights match.

  • "I give Shamrock Rovers a fair chance against Djurgardens" - Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr on TV this evening. Voiced that in sixteen group stage games Irish sides have played in there are only one win and one draw to our name.

  • The Swedish side must plan for the group stages and the remainder of their league campaign without the services of defensive prospect Isak Hien, who signed for Hellas Verona in the recent transfer window. Quality throughout the squad, however, most notably up front where former Sunderland and Swansea striker Joel Asoro is the club’s leading goalscorer this season, while Victor Edvardsen is both a threat in front of goal and assisting – the opening goal against APOEL from the half-way line showing the confidence and capability of the in-form forward. The team is built on a formidable midfield where captain Magnus Eriksson, a former Sweden international, works well alongside the excellent Rasmus Schuller, who dictates play with a range of excellent passing. The Finland international, who is also tough in the tackle in the middle of the park missed the last qualifier against APOEL following a red card in the first leg, however, he looks set to return for the opening game against Rovers.

  • Some info on tonight's visitors to the Tallaght Stadium: In what is strange for modern times they are a team with two head coaches, Kim Bergstrand and Thomas Lagerlöf’s side are currently sitting in second place at the table, and come into the away game at Tallaght Stadium to open the Conference League group stages off the back of a 1-0 away victory over mid-table Sirius.

  • Some info on tonight's visitors to the Tallaght Stadium: Djurgardens finished third in their 2021 Swedish league campaign to qualify for the Europa Conference League and progressed through to the group stages, beating Croatia’s Rijeka, Sepsi OSK of Romania and renowned European campaigners APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus.

  • Stephen Bradley on Europe: We just approach one game at a time, focusing on the next one. We know they are a good team, but we will set out to win. We will respect them, but our aim is to win as many games as possible in the group. It will be difficult, but that is our goal. Europe is always a tactical test. The players will be tested on the pitch, but they will enjoy that challenge as will the staff. I’m sure the fans will have their own challenges as our fans are loud, and their fans are very similar, it has the makings of a special night. It’s a great time to be a supporter of the club, a player or staff, it’s an exciting time. Group stage football is exactly what we wanted, we have it now so it’s time to embrace that and enjoy it.

  • Stephen Bradley on the threat of the Swedish side's front line: Eriksson is obviously an excellent player, but they have a number of very good players, hence why they are doing so well in their league. They have been building this team for some time now, and we will see that tomorrow night, with good players all over the pitch.

  • Stephen Bradley on tonight's opposition: They are a very good team. They are in contention to win their domestic league, and when you watch them you can see why. They have great ability in the team and they are very well coached. We are expecting a difficult game.

  • Team news is in from the Shamrock Rovers camp: Sean Gannon a very experienced player with six Europa League group stage, a Champions League playoff and many European games to his CV is in defence, Chris McCann is in midfield and Ferizaj is part of a three-man attack.

  • Good Evening from FinalWhistle HQ: Ciaran Callan here giving you up-to-date coverage of the Europa Conference League Group tie against DJURGÅRDENS IF of Sweden.

Ground

Tallaght Stadium
Tallaght Stadium, Whitestown Way, Tallaght, Dublin 24, D24 XC9W

Ciaran Callan is a part-time sports journalist based in Dundalk, Co. Louth. He has more than 10 year’s experience working with media companies including both extensive radio broadcasting experience along with print and digital media reporting for the SSE Airtricity League as well digital media work with the national sports company eirSport. He joined FinalWhistle in February 2021 as is their main correspondent for Dundalk Football Club.