Europa League Report: Shamrock Rovers 3 - 0 Progres Niederkorn

A goal either side of half-time from Marty Waters and Dave Webster eased Shamrock Rovers to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Luxembourg side Progres Niederkorn at Tallaght Stadium.

The Hoops rarely moved out of second-gear against opponents who are still very much in pre-season, and in truth they never needed to as they weren't made to work particularly hard for passage into the second qualifying round and a likely encounter with Norwegian side Odds.

Hoops boss Pat Fenlon stuck with the same eleven that toiled in 30-degree heat in Oberkorn, with injured pair Ryan Brennan and captain Conor Kenna returning to the bench in place of David O'Connor and Gareth McCaffrey.

Progres Niederkorn coach Olivier Ciancanelli freshened up his side with three changes: Alessandro Fiorani, Adrian Ferino and Levy Rougeaux stepped up from the bench in place of club captain David Soares, Jonathan Rigo and Valentin Poinsignon.

The light rain that fell on Tallaght in the lead-up to the match grew heavier as kick-off approached, and could charitably be said to account for a wild swipe from Progres captain Ismael Bouzid that led to the first chance of the game on two minutes, but Marty Waters' cross was just too long for Rovers striker Mikey Drennan.

The visitors adopted a more direct approach – no surprise given their significant size advantage – and Olivier Cassan had already fluffed a decent shooting opportunity when Hakim Menai came inches away from playing the midfielder clean through on goal.

Hoops midfielder Gary McCabe told the club programme before the game that a rainy day would suit Rovers down to the ground, but it seemed to benefit more the visitor's long ball approach, and they went close again when Mikael Garos was presented with a free header from Menai's free kick, but he could only glance the ball wide.

It was somewhat against the run of play, then, when Dave Webster found himself ideally-placed to stab home Brandon Miele's cross-shot after Progres failed to fully deal with a Marty Waters free kick, but the centre half cared little as he celebrated his first goal since moving from Bray during the winter.

While the Hoops dominated possession, Progres continued to cause them problems with their direct style and the physicality of striker Guiseppe Rossini, and both Cassan and Menai should have levelled after Rovers failed to deal with a pair of routine crosses.

They paid for their profligacy shortly before half time as Simon Madden's left-footed cross was fumbled, under minimal pressure, by goalkeeper Sebastian Flauss and Waters had the easiest of opportunities to head into an empty net and end the game as a contest before the break.

The third goal, when it came, was a thing of beauty, with Madden again the architect as a sharp injection of pace took three Progres players out of the game. A quick passing movement across the face of the box brought the ball to Waters, who snapped his shot past Flauss at his near post.

Drennan passed up a glorious chance to open up his European account and make it four as he sprung the Progres offside trap to race through on goal, but he couldn't beat the onrushing Flauss, and he was hooked shortly after for the returning Danny North.

Progres pushed for a late consolation and should have had their reward in injury time when Tim Clancy's mistake presented Rossini with a simple chance six yards from goal, but the striker missed when it would have been easier to score and summed up what was a miserable night for the visitors.

Shamrock Rovers: Craig Hyland; Simon Madden, David Webster, Tim Clancy, Luke Byrne; Patrick Cregg, Gary McCabe, Kieran Marty Waters (Ryan Brennan 75), Gavin Brennan, Brandon Miele; Mikey Drennan (Danny North 87).

Subs Not Used: Barry Murphy (gk), Conor Kenna, Maxime Blanchard, Ryan Brennan, Cian Kavanagh, Dylan Kavanagh, Danny North.

Booked: Luke Byrne (85).

Progres Niederkorn: Sebastian Flauss; Alessandro Fiorani (Paul Bossi 75), Samuel Dog, Ismael Bouzid, Adrian Ferino; Olivier Cassan, Mickael Garos, Hakim Menai, Sebastian Thill (Olivier Thill 77); Guiseppi Rossini, Levy Rougeaux (Valentin Poinsignon 67).

Subs Not Used: Jaoa Machado (gk), Nelson Cabral, Tom Lehnen, Olivier Thill, Jeff Bertemes, Paul Bossi, Valentin Poinsignon.

Booked: Olivier Cassan (26), Samuel Dog (43), Paul Bossi (85), Alessandro Fiorani (87).

Referee: Dominik Ouschan.

Attendance: 4,000 (estimate).

Extratime.ie Player of the Match: Marty Waters (Shamrock Rovers)