Far, far away from terrestrial television, Shamrock Rovers threatened to overwhelm an initially disinterested Ludogorets in a barnstorming Champions League affair.
The early goal Rovers so desperately needed to plant doubt in the mind of this multicultural Bulgarian outfit almost escaped them. Graham Burke lost the race to Richie Towell’s arcing ball inside three minutes, as Ludogorets goalkeeper Sergio Padt cleared to safety. With Jack Byrne also unavailable, Rovers needed others to influence the midfield exchanges and Towell, superhero and pantomime villain in equal measure, really should have scored after eight minutes.
Rovers survived and came again with Lyons turning back onto his right foot to drop a cross on Burke’s head that Padt saved one-handed, only for Aaron Greene to bury the rebound – 1-0, 20 minutes gone and Tallaght was buzzing. Same goes for Bernard Tekpetey, a rapid winger targeted by several European clubs, who was lucky to only receive yellow for his crunching tackle on Gary O’Neill.
The cards were flowing all and Rovers were no angels. Mr Maresca gets full marks for booking Towell for a dive that beggars belief, as he did so well to control Burke’s through ball only to collapse with Zan Kamicnik’s breathing down his neck.It felt like the tie could be decided by how Stephen Bradley used his bench. Perhaps influenced by the three-goal mountain, regulars Rory Gaffney and Dylan Watts did not start but, along with Neil Farrugia, the trio were unleashed for the last 20 minutes.
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