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Date Time League Season
3 August 2023 8:00 pm UEFA Conference League 2023/24

Match Report

Hoops Suffer Second Leg Defeat To End European Run

Shamrock Rovers bowed out of Europe with an 0-2 loss (0-6 agg.) against Ferencvaros in Tallaght Stadium.

The Hoops got off to a bright start in the early stages, Johnny Kenny proving to be a live-wire threat, Sean Gannon having his effort denied by the woodwork.

Soon the hosts began to become overrun in the midfield and at the mercy of Ferencvaros’ physical prowess, Adama Traore jinxing down the right wing and pulling the ball back for Kristoffer Zachariassen, whose deflected shot landed in the net. Right at the end of normal time, the visitors added a second as Samy Mmaee found the target.

Like the first leg of the tie, Rovers got off to an encouraging start, probing Dénes Dibusz’s goal from the opening whistle. Johnny Kenny’s movement in particular caused Ferencvaros’ back three a multitude of headaches, the Celtic loanee nearly firing the hosts ahead as he drew a reactive save from Dibusz six yards out.

The shot spilled into the path of Seán Gannon, whose effort managed to crack the underside of the crossbar without breaching the goal line.

Moments later Kenny again forced a difficult save from Dibusz, the Hungarian international forced to tip the forward’s header over the bar, Graham Burke flashing a shot inches wide from the subsequent corner.

Unfortunately for Stephen Bradley’s side the parallels to the first leg didn’t end there as the Hoops’ fiery start soon waned, Ferencvaros’ superior pedigree soon becoming glaringly obvious. As has been the issue for the crux of Rovers’ short-lived European journey, the hosts were physically powered off the pitch, their midfield wilting under the combative presence of Ferencvaros, winger Adama Traore tormenting Kieran Cruise and Sean Hoare with his blistering pace and deft footwork.

It was Traore who was responsible for carving out his side’s lead in the 32nd minute, jinxing down the right wing and dragging the ball back into the feet of Kristoffer Zachariassen. Zachariassen was forced to swivel and take the shot at a difficult angle, his shot lacking any significant power but instead deflecting off Pico Lopes, leaving Leon Pohls flat-footed as the ball bumbled into the back of the net.  

As the second half got underway, Rovers again enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but were unable to muster up any real sizeable opportunities, Kwabwena Owusu producing the best chance of the half as his vicious curling effort smashed off the bar.  

The latter stages saw cameos for Aaron Greene, Ronan Finn and Naj Razi, a stark display of the squad’s aging profile that’s just peppered slightly with the youthful exuberance of players like Razi. It remains to be seen how Rovers will progress from this forgettable European run, will Bradley continue to place his faith in this seasoned side that has almost guaranteed domestic success but has routinely underperformed in Europe, or will a chance be taken on the likes of Razi and Justin Ferizaj who could propel Rovers forward with a dynamism and energy that they have sorely lacked this season.  

Sammy Mmaee finished cooly from a corner in the dying embers of the game to put the final nails in the Rovers’ coffin.

Tonight’s result marks Rovers’ sixth defeat on the trot, as the reigning champions will desperately try to reignite form when they welcome Cork City this Sunday. The Hoops sit four points on top of league standings currently, that cushion potentially reduced to a single figure if St. Patrick’s Athletic take all three points at The Showgrounds tomorrow evening. 

Shamrock Rovers

25Leon Pohls Goalkeeper
2Sean Gannon Defender
3Sean Hoare 8 Defender
4Roberto Lopes Defender
6Daniel Cleary Defender
31Kieran Cruise Defender
16Gary O’Neill 7 Midfielder
19Markus Poom Midfielder
34Conan Noonan 39 Midfielder
24Johnny Kenny 9 Forward
10Graham Burke 27 Forward
1Alan Mannus Goalkeeper
7Dylan Watts 16 Midfielder
8Ronan Finn 3 Midfielder
9Aaron Greene 24 Forward
11Sean Kavanagh Defender
17Richie Towell Midfielder
27Liam Burt 10 Midfielder
28Gideon Tetteh Forward
30Toms Leitis Goalkeeper
39Najemedine Razi 34 Midfielder
33Carl Lennox Defender

Ferencváros

90Dénes Dibusz Goalkeeper
27Ibrahim Cisse 4 Defender
3Samy Mmaee Defender 90'
99Cristian Ramirez 23 Defender
7Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane Midfielder
16Kristoffer Zachariassen Midfielder 32'
18David Siger 13 Midfielder
25Cebrails Makreckis Midfielder
19Barnabas Varga 76 Forward
20Adama Traoré 11 Forward
50Marquinhos Forward
1Adam Varga Goalkeeper
4Mats Knoester 27 Defender
10Tokmac Nguen Forward
11Kwabwena Owusu 20 Forward
13Anderson Esiti 18 Midfielder
23Lóránd Pászka 99 Defender
30Peter Barath Midfielder
55Balint Katona Midfielder
62Levente Ori Goalkeeper
76Krisztián Lisztes 19 Forward
  • Full-time in Tallaght. Shamrock Rovers 0-2 Ferencvaros.

  • 90'

    Goal! Sammy Mmaee finds the ball at his feet at point-blank range following a corner, and finishes calmly past Pohls to make it 0-2.

  • 88'

    Pohls stands tall to save a Marquinhos shot at his near post.

  • 83'

    Owusu latches on to a cross to finish past Pohls but is ruled offside by the fourth official.

  • 78'

    As things stand Derry look to be only team progressing into the next round of conference league qualifiers, Dundalk crashing out in a 2-2 draw with KA Akureyar.

  • 73'

    Owusu unleashes an absolutely vicious shot form the edge of the box, his effort swerving through the air and crashing onto the crossbar.

  • 71'

    Attendance tonight in Tallaght 3,737. Sean Hoare goes off for Ronan Finn.

  • 67'

    The last of Ferencvaros' subs enter play, Kristian Lisztes and Mats Knoester stepping in for Barnabás Varga and Ibrahim Cissé.

  • 62'

    Three subs on for Rovers. Aaron Greene, Liam Burt, and Naj Razi replace Kenny, Noonan, and Burke.

  • 57'

    Rovers enjoying the majority of the ball this half and have produced a few sizeable chances. Kenny went closest again, just made to stretch too much to get his shot on the effort, following a cutting-edge pass from Graham Burke.

  • 51'

    A total of four subs made at half-time. Three for Ferencvaros, Kwabwena Owusu, Anderson Esiti, and Loran Paszka coming on for Traoré, David Siger, and Cristian Ramirez. Dylan Watts replaces Gary O'Neill in midfield.

  • 46'

    Proceedings are back underway in Tallaght!

  • Half-time in Tallaght. Shamrock Rovers 0-1 Ferencvaros.

  • 45'

    One minute of injury time to be played in Tallaght.

  • 42'

    Siger catches the ball on the outside of the box and fires a powerful-but direct effort at Pohls.

  • 37'

    Kenny catches the ball on the edge of the box and drills a shot inches left of Dibusz's goal.

  • 31'

    Goal! Adama Traore breaks down the right side and drags the ball into the box, finding Kristoffer Zachariassen. Zachariassen is forced to swivel and take the shot at a difficult angle, his effort clipping off Pico Lopes and leaving Pohls grounded to the spot as the visitors take the lead.

  • 26'

    Burke fires a free-kick from 25 yards out well over the bar.

  • 22'

    Cebralis Makreckis picks up the ball in the middle of the park and finds it all too easy to bear down on Leon Phol's goal as he breezes past Gary O'Neill, Markus Poom and Kieran Cruise. Makreckis goes to pull the ball back and is blocked by Conan Noonan. Ferenchvaros awarded a corner.

  • 16'

    Rovers are presented with two more good opportunities, Kenny producing a dangerous header for Dibusz to tip over while Graham Burke flashes a shot just wide from the subsequent corner.

  • 13'

    Rovers nearly take the lead! Kenny finds the ball in the centre of the box and draws a reactive save from Dénes Dibusz. Disbusz can only spill his save into the feet of Seán Gannon who's effort manages to crack the underside of the bar without crossing the goal-line!

  • 11'

    Just like the reverse fixture, an initially bright opening spell for Rovers has began to wear away-Ferencvaros' physical dominance of the pitch becoming glaringly obvious.

  • 6'

    The hosts are nearly instantly punished on the opposite end, Marquinhos threading a ball through an exposed Rovers' back line to find Adama Traore in the box. Pohls gets down well to save Traore's effort, the fourth official raising his flag regardless.

  • 4'

    Rovers go close early on! Johnny Kenny snags the ball from Marquinhos on the right wing and darts into the box, pulling a cross back for Conan Noonan, the midfielder unable to sort his feet out as the opportunity is eventually squandered.

  • 1'

    And the action gets underway in Tallaght!

  • Ferenchvaros squared off against Shamrock Rovers last season in their Europa League qualifiers. The Hungarian side took a 4-0 win in the Groupama Arena, before falling to a 0-1 defeat in Tallaght. History may very well repeat itself tonight...

  • Ferenchvaros\' four goal scorers from the first leg all start-David Sigér, Barnabás Varga, Adama Traore, and Gaston Ramirez.

  • Some big changes for Rovers from last Thursday. In goal Alan Mannus is dropped in favour of Leon Pohls, while Sean Gannon and Kieran Cruise replace Sean Kavanagh and Lee Grace on the wings. Conan Noonan steps into midfield in place of Richie Towell, while Graham Burke is picked over Liam Burk as Johnny Kenny\'s foil in the front line.

  • With departure from Europe all but guaranteed, Bradley hinted that The Hoops may tread lightly in terms of match intensity, a league fixture on Cork against Sunday potentially taking higher priority: "“We have to be careful. We obviously have to think of the Cork game on Sunday. I think to feel we can turn the tie around is unrealistic, Ferencvaros will get opportunities during the game. But we will absolutely try and win the game, there’s no doubt we’ll try. Can we win the tie? Hand on heart I don’t think so, but we’ll definitely try.”

  • The loss in Budapest marked Rovers\' fifth defeat in a row, that run also including an FAI cup exit at the hands of Dundalk. Speaking on last week\'s European loss to club media, manager Stephen Bradley said: “Yeah, I think we started the game really well, if you had asked us how we wanted to start, it would have been those first 15 minutes. We had two really good opportunities to take the lead before they threatened us, but then we make a mistake that’s very unlike Alan and you just have to accept that." “You could feel it in the ground, their tension in the first 15 minutes, how nervous they were, and I think if we score the first goal it becomes a different game. The first two goals we gave away are really poor.”

  • Evening all and welcome along to tonight's coverage of Shamrock Rovers vs Ferencvaros. The Hoops welcome the Hungarian side to Tallaght with a near impossible task in trying to overturn an 0-4 deficit and book a place in the next round of UEFA Conference League qualifiers, damage limitation the more likely outcome.

Past Meetings

(Second Qualifying Round)
4 - 0
UEFA Conference League
Ferencvaros Stadion

Ferencváros 4-0 Shamrock Rovers

(Qualification Final)
1 - 0
UEFA Europa League
Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers v Ferencvarosi

(Qualification Final)
4 - 0
UEFA Europa League
Ferencvaros Stadion

Ferencvarosi v Shamrock Rovers

Ground

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

Alex is a second-year Journalism student at DCU. As well as being a soccer enthusiast, he's also an avid athletics fan, competing in the sport for over ten years.