v
Ronan Finn 25'
1-0
 37' Joseph Zerafa
Dylan Watts 40'
2-0
Rory Gaffney 70'
70' Gabriel Izquier Artiles
Rory Gaffney 79'
3-0

Details

Date Time League Season
5 July 2022 8:00 pm UEFA Champions League 2022/23

Match Report

Champions League – Rovers deliver in first leg against Malta side Hibernians

A crowd of 7,019 saw Shamrock Rovers record their biggest Champions League win at Tallaght in the first leg of their First Qualifying Round of the Champions League.

Rovers took the lead in the 25th minute; Rory Gaffney got down the left, he turned and cut inside before finding Ronan Finn at the back post and he made no mistake.

Gaffney turned provider again for Rovers’ second goal in the 40th minute; this time down the same channel, he played the ball to Dylan Watts and he fired home.

Hibs were a better side after the break; hit the crossbar and the butt of the post. Rovers sealed the win in the 79th minute when Aidomo Emakhu backheel was picked up by Gaffney, he raced through before coolly slotting the ball past Kone.

Rovers dominated the opening half and the Maltese side offered nothing. Hibs were as bad as Rovers were good. Watts and Gaffney caused Hibs problems right from the start.

Watts hit a low drive in the 12th minute that just went wide. Sean Hoare’s header from Watts’ corner was well off target in the 18th minute as Rovers continued to press. 

Their pressure finally paid off in the 25th minute when they took the lead through Finn, making his 48th appearance in Europe. They deservedly doubled their advantage five minutes before the break when Watts found the back of the net with a fine finish.

Chris McCann came close in the 49h minute while four minutes later Hibs’s sub Terence Groothusen hit a powerful strike that smashed against the woodwork.

Hoare put in a fantastic tackle in the 61st minute to cut out the danger ahead of Groothusen. Two minutes later Thaylor squandered a glorious chance when he hit the butt of the post with his effort.

Gaffney was lucky not to be shown a straight red in the 70th minute after he kicked out at Artiles. In the 75th minute Hibs keeper Ibrahim Kone pulled off a good save to deny Watts a second goal.

Minutes later Gaffney grabbed Rovers third goal. Kone denied Emakhu near the end.

Shamrock Rovers
1Alan Mannus Goalkeeper
22Andy Lyons Defender
3Sean Hoare Defender
4Roberto Lopes Defender
5Lee Grace Defender
7Dylan Watts 17 Midfielder 40'
8Ronan Finn 2 Midfielder 25'
9Aaron Greene 38 Forward
16Gary O’Neill Midfielder
20Rory Gaffney 21 Forward 79'
70'
26Chris McCann Midfielder
2Sean Gannon 8 Defender
6Barry Cotter Defender
11Sean Kavanagh Defender
17Richie Towell 7 Midfielder
25Leon Pohls Goalkeeper
38Aidomo Emakhu 9 Midfielder
21Justin Ferizaj 20 Midfielder
30Toms Leitis Goalkeeper
32Michael Leddy Forward

Hibernians
24Ibrahim Koné Goalkeeper
6Gonzalo Llerna Bravo
10Jurgen Degabriele Forward
12Dunstan Vella Defender
13Zachary Grech 21
17Gabriel Mensah 9
18Thaylor 7
19Joseph Zerafa 4 37'
22Gabriel Izquier Artiles 70'
42Ali Diakite
88Rodolfo Soares
2Isaidh Ndubisi Junior Chukunyere
4Lorenzo Yoel Soares Fonseca 19
5Matthew Ellul
7Ayrton Attard 18
9Terence Groothusen 17
16Justin Haber
21Lucas Caruana 13
30Jayden Ekenna Ohaka
31Andreas Baekskov Laursen

Timeline

8. Ronan Finn 25' 
  37' 19. Joseph Zerafa
7. Dylan Watts 40' 
  46' Gabriel Mensah
Terence Groothusen
Aaron Greene
Aidomo Emakhu		 67' 
20. Rory Gaffney 70' 
  70' 22. Gabriel Izquier Artiles
20. Rory Gaffney 79' 
Ronan Finn
Sean Gannon		 81' 
Dylan Watts
Richie Towell		 81' 
  81' Thaylor
Ayrton Attard
Rory Gaffney
Justin Ferizaj		 85' 
  90' Joseph Zerafa
Lorenzo Yoel Soares Fonseca
  90' Zachary Grech
Lucas Caruana
  • 93'

    All over at Tallaght. A great win for Rovers

  • 90'

    Zerafa goes off

  • 90'

    Fonseca is on

  • 90'

    Zach Grech is off

  • 90'

    Lucas Caruana is on

  • 85'

    Rory Gaffney goes off

  • 85'

    Justin Ferizaj is on

  • 84'

    Kone saves from Emakhu

  • 81'

    Dylan Watts comes off

  • 81'

    Richie Towell is on

  • 81'

    Ronan Finn off. He has been tremendous

  • 81'

    Sean Gannon is on

  • 79'

    Aidomo Emakhu with a backheel picked up by Gaffney, he races through and it\'s a brilliant finish

  • 78'

    Rory Gaffney with a third goal for Rovers

  • 75'

    Kone saves from Dylan Watts

  • 74'

    Thaylor is having a mare up front for Hibs

  • 72'

    A crowd of 7,019 in Tallaght

  • 70'

    Rory Gaffney booked. He appeared to kick out. Lucky

  • 69'

    Rory Gaffney could be in trouble here

  • 67'

    Aaron Greene goes off

  • 67'

    Aidomo Emakhu is on

  • 63'

    Thaylor with a glorious chance for Hibs, after putting off Lee Grace, he races through and with Mannus off his line, he takes a shot but hits it off the butt of the post.

  • 61'

    Great tackle from Sean Hoare. He wins the free

  • 60'

    The referee spots some pulling in the box so it's a free out to Hibs

  • 59'

    McCann fouled, free to Rovers

  • 58'

    Roberto Lopes clears the danger

  • 56'

    Hibs beginning to pass the ball around

  • 52'

    Groothusen with a powerful strike that just hits the woodwork

  • 48'

    Groothusen is going to be the big target man for Hibs

  • 46'

    Gabriel Mensah makes way

  • 46'

    Hibs bring on Terence Groothusen

  • 45'

    Rovers lead at the break

  • 41'

    Rory Gaffney setting up another goal - down the left, gets inside, plays it to Watts and a fine finish

  • 40'

    Dylan Watts with a goal his performance deserves

  • 37'

    Zerafa the first player to get booked

  • 35'

    Hibs trying to get into the game

  • 32'

    Watts' free is put out for a corner

  • 30'

    Lee Grace back to Alan Mannus and Rovers try and build something

  • 26'

    Rory Gaffney with good play, turned and cut inside to play the ball to Finn who was at the back post. No more than Rovers deserve

  • 25'

    Ronan Finn at the back post. 1-0 Rovers

  • 20'

    Hibs try to start something but they are dispossessed

  • 18'

    Dylan Watts' corner is headed wide by Sean Hoare

  • 17'

    It has been all Rovers so far

  • 12'

    Dylan Watts with a low drive that just goes wide.

  • 10'

    Dylan Watts' free takes a deflection for a corner

  • 9'

    Free to Rovers in a dangerous position

  • 5'

    Rovers have started brightly. Dylan Watts very prominent

  • 2'

    Rory Gaffney with a shot but it\'s right at the Hibs keeper

  • 1'

    We are underway

  • Almost a sell-out here in Tallaght. Great to see

  • Last year Rovers were knocked out of the competition at this phase so will be hoping to go one better this year.

  • Rory Gaffney leads the line for Rovers tonight. Stephen Bradley has Richie Towell back and he's on the bench.

  • The last time Hibs played in Ireland, they defeated Shelbourne in the Champions League in '02. They had lost to Dundalk and Waterford in 1979 and '80, respectively.

  • Welcome to Final Whistle's coverage of Shamrock Rovers v Hibernians. It's the Maltese version of Hibs, not the Scottish one. Deniese O'Flaherty here.

Ground

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

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