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| Juve dish out Shamrock defeat |
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Shamrock Rovers' hopes of causing a huge upset in the third qualifying round of the Europa League are all but over after a double from Amauri gave Juventus a 2-0 victory in the first leg at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin.
Shamrock fell behind in just the third minute as the Brazilian striker slotted home after good build up by the Italian giants.
But the hosts put in a gutsy effort to stay in the game and occasionally threaten an equaliser, before Amauri's 75th minute header rounded off an ultimately comfortable success for the visitors.
The home side, perhaps understandably, made a nervous start with Juventus dominating possession as Shamrock continually gave the ball away in midfield.
And they fell behind after just three minutes as Amauri played an excellent one-two with Diego, going on to slot the ball beyond Alan Mannus in the Shamrock goal.
Shamrock defender Dan Murray had a chance to level matters just two minutes later, but he took too long to get his shot away as he struggled to bring the ball down.
Diego then came very close to doubling the lead in the 19th minute as a poor backpass from Murray put keeper Mannus under pressure, but the Brazil midfielder dragged his effort wide.
Juventus were having the run of the midfield, with former Liverpool man Mohamed Sissoko easily breaking up any potential Shamrock attacks.
The hosts did finally manage to put some pressure on their illustrious visitors in the 25th minute when a long ball picked out Thomas Stewart, whose goal against Bnei Yehuda had handed Rovers this tie, and the forward's jinking run saw him threaten the Juve box, but Giorgio Chiellini cleared his cross to safety.
But it was not long before Luigi Del Neri's side were back on the attack and Davide Lanzafame almost extended their lead after good work by Diego, but his shot was deflected just wide of the near post.
New signing Pepe then headed wide as the pressure increased on Michael O'Neill's side.
There was a brief respite for the hosts just before the break after a fine run from Enda Stevens, but striker Gary Twigg was caught offside.
After being outplayed for so much of the first half the hosts came out with a more positive attitude after the break, with Murray heading a great chance wide after good work down the left flank by Stewart.
Chris Turner then saw a long-range effort fly over the bar and Juve briefly looked rattled.
But they soon rediscovered their composure and Amauri was denied a second by the post after latching onto a long ball downfield.
Pepe then saw his low shot skim the far post and Claudio Marchisio failed to control the ball after being played in by Amauri.
But the clinching goal finally came as a powerful header saw the forward beat Mannus for a second time, with Juve comfortably seeing out the final 15 minutes without alarm.
# O'Neill proud in defeat
Shamrock Rovers coach Michael O'Neill was delighted with the way his side applied themselves. He admitted his side had struggled early on, conceding the opener in the third minute, but was pleased with their overall display.
''Early on in the game we tried to go from back to front far too quickly. We said beforehand that we needed to have belief and get settled in the game, but we never had that after going behind so early. It took us 25 minutes to get settled,'' he told RTE.
''In the second half we moved the ball around well, but I felt we could have put the ball in the box more. We knew we were a threat from set pieces but you are always aware of the quality they have.
''I always felt we could go out and play the way we did and have patches where we could hassle them, but we knew it would be difficult to do that for 90 minutes against a side of their quality. In the end I couldn't have asked any more of the players.''
Shamrock are now faced with the daunting task of travelling to Italy for the second leg next week, although that game will be played in Modena as the Stadio Olimpico is being used by fellow Dubliners U2 for a concert on their ongoing world tour, and O'Neill hopes his side can repeat tonight's display.
''We have to go out in the second leg and a give a good account of ourselves in Italy,'' he said. |
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