Shamrock Rovers to face Celje in Europa League after bowing out of Champions League

Champions League second qualifying round, second-leg: Sparta Prague 4-2 Shamrock Rovers (Agg: 6-2)

Shamrock Rovers are back on the road next week after landing a Europa League date with Slovenian outfit Celje.

And the Hoops will travel knowing exactly what they need to improve on after a night of harsh lessons in Prague.

Their exit from the Champions League was swashbuckling at times, but also self-inflicted as they laid bare the good, bad and ugly side of their game.

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Sparta Prague are seasoned European campaigners and were clearly a step above but Rovers will know they made it easy for them over two legs.

Stephen Bradley’s charges had chances to score in Tallaght a week ago, not least Neil Farrugia and he squandered another glorious opportunity here.

The powerful winger has all the attributes to reach another level and it’s clear to see why he has been on the fringes of the Ireland squad.

But in both legs with Sparta, his split-second decision making was found wanting as he botched scoring opportunities in both games.

Tonight, Rovers had Aaron Greene to thank for a brilliant brace as the League of Ireland champions showed they can be a threat off the front foot at this level.

But once again, the Hoops were brutally exposed defensively as they gifted Sparta some excruciatingly soft goals in both halves.

And therein lies their difficulty as they try to plot a path to the group stages in either the Europa League or Conference League.

If Rovers beat Celje over two legs - and they knocked out Dundalk in 2020 - they will go into the Europa League playoff round, securing a further €2.1 million on top of the €1.7 already in the bank for getting this far.

Doing so would also guarantee a Conference League group stage campaign no matter what.

But deep down Bradley knows his team won’t last long on their continental adventures if they continue to defend like they did in Prague.

Trailing 2-0 on aggregate, Rovers knew this would be a tall order but they gave it a right go.

They played with confidence on the ball, but less so without it and Sparta took the lead after 30 minutes.

Leon Pohls punched a clearance as far as Imanol García de Albéniz and he crossed for Victor Olatunji to head home after floating in between Pico Lopes and Lee Grace.

Credit Rovers, though. Their response was instant as Greene latched onto Dylan Watts’ ball before rounding the goalkeeper and finishing from the tightest of angles.

And the Hoops should have edged in front moments later but Farrugia wasted that great effort after being teed up by Darragh Nugent.

But Sparta pressed ahead four minutes before half-time when Mathias Ross ghosted in between Greene and Nugent to head home from a corner.

Again, Rovers responded well by getting back on level terms two minutes into the second-half with Greene heading home a lovely Josh Honohan cross.

But yet again Rovers shot themselves in the foot as Spara regained their lead just two minutes later - and from awful defending once again.

Kryštof Daněk whipped in a corner and Asger Sørensen, after getting away from Lee Grace, had all the time in the world to stoop and head home.

And Sparta’s safe passage was secured with 19 minutes to go when Albanian underage international Indrit Tuci drilled home a low shot from the edge of the box.

Rovers gave it a good go, but you can’t defend like that at this level and expect rewards for it.

The Europa League - their opponents Celje were thumped 5-0 by Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night - could be a fine consolation, providing they learn from this.

Sparta Prague: Vindah 6l; Ross 7, Pavelka 6, Sorensen 5 (Zeleny, 62, 6); Weisner 7 (Suchomel, 84, 5), L. Sadilek 6, Laci 6 (Solbakken, 62, 6), Imanol, 7; Danek 6 (Tuci, 69, 7), Olatunji 7, E. Krasniqi 6 (Kuchta, 69, 6).

Shamrock Rovers: Pohls 6; Hoare 5 (Cleary, 24, 6), Lopes 6, Grace 6; Honohan 6, O’Neill 6, Nugent 6, Watts 5 (Byrne, 63, 6), Clarke 5 (Burns, 63, 5); Farrugia 6 (Poom, 63, 6); Greene 8 (Burke, 74, 6).

Referee: Simone Sozza (Italy).

Attendance: 17,000

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