Uefa Conference League knockout round, 2nd leg: Shamrock Rovers 0 Molde 1 [Wollf Eikrem 10] [aet; 1-1 on agg; Molde win 5-4 on pens]
In the end, Shamrock Rovers' veteran striker Aaron Greene underhit his penalty to invite Molde substitute Eirik Hestad score the deciding spot kick on an agonising night in Tallaght.
Rovers will never forget losing this thrilling Uefa Conference League playoff. Truth be told, they had enough chances to sweep the Norwegians out of the competition across the 120 minutes, and face Legia Warsaw or Cercle Brugge in the Last 16.
“You can’t win anything with kids,” proclaimed Alan Hansen before Manchester United won the 1996 Premier League title with early versions of David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs.
Stephen Bradley will never die wondering. A spate of injuries exacerbated by Rovers' lack of a proper off-season due to this 16-match European run, forced the Hoops manager to start teenagers, Michael Noonan and Cory O’Sullivan, with seven more on the bench alongside 35-year-old Greene, who coached most of them in the club’s youth sides.
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If nothing else, it was a show of strength by the Rovers' academy.
Johnny Sexton and a peak-capped Damien Duff were welcomed into the VIP section by Rovers chairman Ciarán Medlar just before kick-off to witness an innovative tactical twist from Bradley as Rovers stormed into a first-half gale.
The suspended Dylan Watts and Dan Clearly compelled Bradley to throw an unfamiliar formation at his counterpart Per Mathias Hogmo. The initially effective 3-4-3 worked because of some mesmerising movement by Matthew Healy and Graham Burke playing off Noonan.
Holding 87 per cent possession in the opening 10 minutes, the scene was set for a momentous result until Lee Grace let the ball bounce and Magnus Wollf Eikrem levelled the contest 1-1 on aggregate.
Grace’s misjudgment of the wind was only partly to blame, and he did use his body to shut off Fredik Gulbrandsen. But a miscommunication with Ed McGinty led to a panicked half-clearance from the former Sligo Rovers goalkeeper Ed McGinty, who had already rushed from his box to deal with danger as collective hesitation under pressure invited the wily Wollf Eikrem to pounce.
Rovers responded when Noonan nudged the ball past Molde goalkeeper Jacob Karlstrom, only his attempted shot from an impossible angle failed to spin towards the net.
Aaron McEneff did find the target before McGinty saved with his chest after Wollf Eikrem slipped Gulbrandsen through the Rovers defence.
Rovers almost reclaimed the lead when Burke found McEneff but his deft chip beyond Karlstrom was cleared off the Molde goal line by Martin Linnes. VAR turned down a penalty shout even though Karlstrom upended McEneff after his shot.
Rovers kept coming with McEneff’s low cross almost clipped to the net by Noonan in a near repeat of his goal in Norway last week.
As much as they threatened in attack, there was a shakiness to the defending without Cleary as McGinty endured a difficult night. It should be noted that Pico Lopes was phenomenal, as the Cape Verde international usually is on these occasions.
As the second-half ticked away, Burke almost reclaimed the lead but Linnes, again, heroically deflected his volley for a corner. The Ireland international was a constant menace, stinging Karlstrom’s fingers after a smart one-two with O’Sullivan.
That sparked a guttural roar from the 9,533 attendance as Rovers went for the kill. They deserved a penalty when Noonan was bowled over by Isak Amundsen but Greek referee Tasos Sidiropoulos was unmoved.
Amundsen was eventually booked for hacking Noonan a single stride outside the box. The big blonde defender was then sent off on the stroke of full-time for rugby tackling McEneff.
That incomprehensible, self-destructive act gave Rovers a numerical advantage entering extra-time. Hogmo also replaced the 34-year-old Wolff Eikrem with Eirik Hestad.
Bradley kept the kids on ice, only replacing Burke with Greene until sending Victor Ozhianvuna into the fray for Josh Honohan. The Aviva Stadium against Bohemians and a nailbiting European clash are all the 16-year-old knows about men’s football.
At half-time in extra-time Bradley made a beeline to Ozhianvuna for some individual coaching and soon after the winger glided down the left before his cross just missed Noonan. Seconds later McEneff’s ball spun inches wide off Noonan’s head.
To penalties and regrets after a historic journey for Irish football.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: McGinty; Honohan (Ozhianvuna, 104), Lopes, Grace; Grant, Healy, O’Neill (O’Reilly-O’Sullivan, 126), O’Sullivan; Burke (Greene, 89), McEneff; Noonan.
MOLDE: Karlstrom; Linnes (Enggard, 65), Amundsen, Haugan, Stenevik; Breivik, Daehli (Bjonbak, 82); Kaasa (Daga, 96), Wolff Eikrem (Hestad, 90), Eriksen; Gulbrandsen (Ihler, 65).
Referee: Tasos Sidiropoulos (Greece).
