It broke through the clichés of island supremacy in airspace. In the rematch of the 2nd preliminary round of the Champions League, Sparta defeated Irish Shamrock Rovers with three headers (plus Indrito Tuci’s hard-hitting strike), won 4-2 and, after an away victory of 2-0, snatched a move towards the desired promotion to the extra competition. In the next preliminary round, the Czech champion will meet either the Romanian FCSB or the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv. Their first clash ended in a draw, the second leg will be played on Wednesday night. At the moment, Letenští are already certain that they will play at least the basic groups of the Conference League.
Sparta needs to jump over two more obstacles in order to be able to show off in the Champions League, on the most glittering stage, after nineteen years.
She managed the first step quite well, although there were a few hiccups in the return – especially in the defensive game and converting chances.
“In Sparta, we have to win every match, it was not easy, they were very emphatic. I’m glad we’re moving on,” said winger Kryštof Daněk after the duel. “We don’t want to concede two goals, that’s clear, but at the end of the day the main thing is that we progress. I think we finished the match very well,” said coach Lars Friis.
The dug-out line-up was looking for a way to surprise Soka. But she also had to get used to Italian Simone Sozza’s strange way of making decisions. Right at the beginning Lukáš Sadílek received a special yellow card, Victor Olatunji didn’t even know how he fouled. However, the referee bought mistakes on both sides, sometimes he made a sharp tackle, other times he was anxious. Not much for players.
Even so, a turbulent match started.
Sparta prevailed mainly thanks to the centers. In the first half, Imanol García, playing on the left wingback, excelled in this activity. He valiantly lived up to the rumors that he “really can kick”. Here he got out of a difficult position with a smart pass and rush, here he set up the opponent’s manger, but above all he sent targeted passes into the key area. In the 29th minute, he did not rush. Even though he could shoot, he aimed precisely at the head of Victor Olatunji, who scored the third goal in the fourth duel of the season.
However, misery also befell the family. Three minutes after the opening goal, there was a discrepancy in the defensive trio. David Pavelka, this time the right stopper, stepped up too much, that’s why a long pass fell behind him, to which Mathias Ross did not respond, Aaron Green ran away from him, confused Peter Vindahl with a loop and equalized. “It was a shame that we let them into the game,” said midfielder Sadílek. “But a season and a half ago, we changed. We can react even if we score a goal,” he added.
It still shook Sparta (for a few tens of seconds), even though Sadílek calmed down his teammates immediately. Evidence? In a few tens of seconds, she let the guests have a clear chance, but Neil Faruggia, clearly the best player of the Irish in both games, missed.
However, Letenský’s essential weapon worked – attacks from the air. A corner from Qazim Laci and Rosso’s header confirmed it moments before half-time. But…
As already hinted, there was a bit of a crazy encounter. The guests equalized right after half time, Greene scored again. On Pavelka, there were two opponents in an incriminating situation, Ross and the returning center Sadílek did not help him. But the reaction was lightning fast. Although Daňka was not successful with crosses from the game, he kicked the corners perfectly, which Asger Sörensen took advantage of in the fall.
“We had far more chances from set pieces. We kicked them well, we went into the attacks well. I’m glad to have an assist,” Daněk said. “It’s a very good job by Tim Sparv in training and then by the players on the field of course,” praised Friis.
The home team finally prevailed with a classic shot. Indrit Tuci didn’t even stay on the field for a minute when he took a shot on the ground right to the post. On the other hand, however, the team collapsed in other possibilities. Above all, Markus Solbakken as well as Jan Kuchta and Ermal Krasniqi could and should have added more hits.
But that didn’t stop the celebration of progress. “It is clear to us that we will face a much tougher opponent in the next round,” warned Daněk.
Sparta – Shamrock: Great substitution! Tuci scored after a minute on the field, 4:2 Sparta – Shamrock: Flash response, Sörensen pounced on Daňk’s corner, 3:2 Sparta – Shamrock: Greene struck for the second time, 2:2 Sparta – Shamrock: Ross headed in the corner, 2: 1 Sparta – Shamrock: Center Imanola sent Olatunji into the net, 1:0 Goals
Homemade: 29. Olatunji, 41. Ross, 48. Sörensen, 71. Tuci
Guests: 32. Greene, 47. Greene
Assemblies
Homemade: Vindahl – Ross, Pavelka, Sörensen (62. Zelený) – Wiesner, Sadílek, Laci (62. Solbakken), Imanol – Daněk (69. Tuci), Olatunji (69. Kuchta), Krasniqi
Guests: Pöhls – Hoare (24. Cleary), Lopes, Grace – Honohan, Farrugia (63. Poom), O’Neill, Nugent, Clarke (63. Burns) – Watts (63. J. Byrne), Greene (74. Burke)
Cards
Homemade: Sadílek, Laci, Daněk
Guests: Cleary, Nugent
Referee
Soaza – Tegoni, Rossi
Stadium
epet Arena, Praha
Visit
17,367 viewers
