Shamrock Rovers beat Egnatia 3-1 as Aaron Greene scores at both ends
Shamrock Rovers defeated Albania's Egnatia 3-1 at home in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie. Aaron Greene scored an own goal before netting twice in the right end to set the final score.
Dublin's Shamrock Rovers took a step closer to the UEFA Europa League group stage by beating Albanian champions Egnatia 3-1 at home in the first match of their third qualifying round tie. The return game will be played on 13 August.
Graham Burke converted a penalty in the 29th minute to put the hosts ahead. Twelve minutes later, Egnatia's Spanish player Guillermo Jaime also took a spot kick but missed. Almost immediately afterwards, Aaron Greene turned the ball into his own net to make it 1-1. Shortly before the 57th minute, Cape Verdean Roberto Lopes, who played every minute of all four matches at this summer's World Cup and has represented the Dublin side since 2017, restored Shamrock Rovers' lead. Greene then made amends by scoring in the right goal, and Jack Byrne supplied assists for both efforts.
Shamrock Rovers had an eventful Champions League campaign earlier this summer. They opened with a 2-0 loss to Malta's Floriana before winning the return leg 5-1. In the second round, they fell 2-0 in Yerevan against Ararat-Armenia, then took a 2-0 lead at home in the first half. However, the Armenian visitors scored in the 73rd minute and advanced.
The winners of this tie will face Norway's Lillestrøm in the play-off round. Northern Ireland's Larne and Iberia 1999 Tbilisi played out a goalless draw, and that pairing will determine who meets either Rangers of Glasgow or Jagiellonia Białystok in the next round.
