PAOK 2 - 1 Shamrock Rovers

A powerful strike by Vierinha after 62 minutes proved crucial in Toumba Stadium this evening, as PAOK Salonika secured their first victory of the 2011/2012 Europa League Group A campaign. The chances of Shamrock Rovers finally earning a point in this year's competition looked like a real possibility when Karl Sheppard headed home Billy Dennehy's free-kick on 48 minutes, but they came up just short in the end.
 

Playing in the unfamiliar surroundings of Greece's second-largest city, it was expected that Michael O'Neill's side would be set up to contain the home team, and that is exactly the way it transpired in the opening stages. This was partly to do with the way that PAOK were likely to approach the game, but also because of the absence of star striker Gary Twigg through injury, which meant that Sheppard took on the mantle of lone striker, with Stephen Rice playing in front of the back four.
 

PAOK were on top of possession during the early moments though, with Vierinha causing The Hoops' central defensive pairing of Ken Oman and Dan Murray a number of problems. Former Everton trainee Sheppard was doing his level best whenever the ball came in his direction, but the last thing Rovers would wanted was to concede an early goal, meaning that the 20-year-old wasn't getting as much support as he would normally be afforded.
 

Unfortunately for Rovers, the breakthrough from PAOK did arrive before the end of the first quarter, as a corner from the Salonika was cleared into the path of Costin Lazar, who brilliantly finished past Rovers custodian Ryan Thompson from all of 25 yards.
 

Michael O'Neill would probably have been disappointed that his players weren't quicker to close down Lazar's shot on goal, but he would have been extremely pleased with their initial response to falling behind, as Dennehy charged past a number of PAOK challenges 19 minutes in, before shooting just wide of Kostas Chalkias' left-hand post.
 

Indeed, Rovers were starting to get more involved in the middle sector, and you got the sense that, if they kept their cool, they could claw their way back into the contest. PAOK were still the more dominant of the two sides though, and Murray had to be alert to block a shot on goal two minutes later having headed the ball straight into the path of his opponent.
 

This was a let-off for Rovers, but they were growing into the game somewhat, with Dennehy proving to be particularly prominent in his role on the right-side of midfield. The Tralee native had been causing left-back Lino a number of difficulties, and PAOK suffered a minor set-back when the latter departed the scenes having picked up a knock just shy of the half-hour mark.
 

PAOK are a very accomplished side however, and they regained a stranglehold on the game as the half wore on, and they were slightly unfortunate not to be given a penalty five minutes before the break when Sullivan appeared to trip up goalscorer Lazar just inside the area, but match referee Tony Asumaa waved play on.
 

PAOK conjured up a further chance on goal when Vierinha forced Thompson into a fine save from a well-drilled free-kick, and this proved to be the final action of the opening period, as the Airtricity Champions-elect went in trailing by a solitary goal at the break.

 

Though Rovers supremo O'Neill would not have wanted to have gone into the dressing room at the mid-way stage facing into a deficit of any kind, he would no doubt have been encouraged by many aspects of his side's playing during the opening 45 minutes, and the game was certainly there for the taking if Rovers played with the right kind of courage and conviction.
 

In this aspect, they were certainly not found wanting, as the excellent Dennehy raced down the right-wing three minutes in and, after being fouled by substitute Miroslaw Sznaucner, he delivered an inch-perfect cross from the subsequent free-kick, which found its way past the the stranded Chalkias courtesy of a terrific header from Sheppard.
 

This was Sheppard's 14th goal of the season, many of them coming with his head, and The Hoops now had their Greek counterparts positively rattled. For a while after this, nerves did creep into the PAOK play, and with the scores tied heading into the final half-hour, there was now a very realistic chance that they could get something out of this tie.
 

The visitors suffered a blow 18 minutes into the second period unfortunately, as the ever-dangerous Vierinha unleashed a right-footed strike from outside the box that had enough purchase to find its way past Thompson for his side's second goal of the evening.

 

The scoring of this goal was met by a huge sigh of relief from the PAOK faithful, as there was a real danger that they could have been heading for their third draw in a row in this year's competition. In much the same way as Sheppard's goal had given Rovers a lift, PAOK received a similar boost as a result of Vierinha's goal, and they looked far more composed after re-taking the lead.
 

The two-time domestic league Champions were more than happy to play keep ball in the middle of the park, which made the prospects of a dramatic fightback from the South Dublin men quite remote, and Thompson had to be at his very best to prevent an Etto pull-back from finding the Rovers net for a third time.
 

By this point, Rovers had introduced Ciaran Kilduff for Chris Turner, and Ronan Finn for Jim Paterson, in an effort to force their way back into the game, and they were soon joined by Gary McCabe, who replaced the remarkably industrious Sheppard with seven minutes of normal time remaining.
 

To their eternal credit, Rovers battled right up until the final whistle, but the precious goal that would finally get them off the mark in Group A didn't arrive, and their focus will now return to the Premier Division, where they have a potential title-clincher against UCD in the Belfield Bowl on Monday evening.


PAOK SALONIKA: Kostas Chalkias; Etto, Bruno Cirillo, Stelios Malezas, Lino (Miroslaw Sznaucner '28); Diego Arias, Dimitrios Salpigidis (Athanasios Papazoglou '88), Costin Lazar, Stefanos Athanasiadis (Giorgos Georgiadis '61); Vladimir Ivic, Vierinha.

Subs not used: Betrand Robert, Stelios Kitsiou, Panagiotis Glikos, Alexis Apostolopoulos.


SHAMROCK ROVERS: Ryan Thompson; Pat Sullivan, Ken Oman, Dan Murray, Enda Stevens; Stephen Rice; Billy Dennehy, Stephen O'Donnell, Chris Turner (Ciaran Kilduff '74), Jim Paterson (Ronan Finn '74); Karl Sheppard (Gary McCabe '83).

Subs not used: Craig Sives, Richard Brush, Rohan Ricketts, Conor McCormack.
 

REFEREE: Tony Asumaa (Finland).

Attendance: N/A.

Extra Time Man Of The Match: Vierinha (PAOK Salonika).