5 – 1
“Daniel Adjessa broke the deadlock inside four minutes, silencing any hope of a Shamrock Rovers recovery before it could even begin. The early strike set the tone for a relentless Egnatia display.”
Pivotal“Ildi Gruda completed a devastating 20-minute opening salvo, making it 3-0 after corners had repeatedly threatened the Rovers backline. At this point the tie on aggregate was all but over.”
Pivotal“Edison Ndreca received his second yellow card for a second tripping offence on the stroke of half-time, reducing Egnatia to ten men heading into the second half — yet it barely slowed their momentum.”
“Alessandro Albanese, despite picking up a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct just minutes earlier, added a fifth goal to make it 5-0 — an emphatic statement even with ten men on the pitch.”
Pivotal“Graham Burke pulled one back for Shamrock Rovers in the 74th minute to give the travelling supporters something to celebrate, but it amounted to nothing more than a late consolation in a tie that had long been decided.”
Egnatia Rrogozhinë
Shamrock Rovers
Egnatia Rrogozhinë produced a stunning first-half performance to dismantle Shamrock Rovers 5-1 on the night and advance 6-4 on aggregate into the next round of the Europa League. Despite being the home side, Rovers struggled to impose their superior possession — they finished with 59% of the ball — but could do virtually nothing with it, mustering just one shot on target across 90 minutes against an Egnatia side that was brutally efficient on the counter. The Albanian side scored four times before the break through Daniel Adjessa (two), Alessandro Albanese, and Ildi Gruda, with Edison Ndreca's second yellow card on the stroke of half-time compounding Rovers' misery. Alessandro Albanese added a fifth after the interval to effectively end the tie as a contest, and though Graham Burke pulled one back for the Irish side in the 74th minute — a consolation at best — the damage had long been done. Egnatia's 17 shots to Rovers' seven, and an extraordinary 11-1 advantage in shots on target, tells the full story of how one-sided this was despite the possession numbers.
How entertaining was this match?
Matthew HealyYellow CardMatthew Healy receives a yellow card.
Eljon SotaYellow CardEljon Sota receives a yellow card.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Numan Ajetovikj comes on for Fernando Medeiros Da Silva.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Goal! Graham Burke scores, bringing the score to 5-1.
Zamiq AliyevYellow CardYellow card issued to Zamiq Aliyev.
On comes Daniel Mandroiu, and Enda Stevens goes off.
Altin Kryeziu comes on for Karim Loukili.
Jurguens Montenegro is on, and Daniel Adjessa is off.
Maleace Asamoah is on, and Jake Mulraney is off.
Corner awarded.
assist: Fernando Medeiros
Goal! The score is now 5-0.
Alessandro AlbaneseYellow CardAlessandro Albanese receives a yellow card.
Enda Stevens receives a yellow card.
Corner awarded.
Zamiq Aliyev is on, and Ildi Gruda is off.
On comes Lee Grace, off goes Tunmise Sobowale.
Jonathan Afolabi replaces Aaron Greene.
First half ends with a score of 4-0.
Second yellow card shown to Edison Ndreca.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
assist: Fernando Medeiros
Goal! Daniel Adjessa scores, making it 4-0.
Edison NdrecaYellow CardEdison Ndreca receives a yellow card.
Corner awarded.
Goal! The score is now 3-0.
Corner awarded.
assist: Fernando Medeiros
Goal! The score is now 2-0.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
assist: Ildi Gruda
Goal! The score is now 1-0.
Kick-off! The referee is Georgi Kabakov.
