So, Matchday 1 of the Conference League is behind us. All in all, a mixed bag for the Irish sides involved in the league phase of Europe’s third-tier cup competition.
Shelbourne claimed their first-ever point in Europe after a close-fought 0-0 stalemate with BK Hacken. Aside from a few half-chances for Mipo Odubeko and Kerr McInroy, it was a quiet game played in tricky conditions. Their Swedish opponents failed to really trouble Wessel Speel too – Isak Brusberg went close in the second-half!
As for the Hoops, they shipped a 4-1 defeat in the Czech capital this evening. Lukas Sadilek opened the scoring before Martin Suchomel and Asger Sorensen netted either side of half-time. Danny Mandroiu pulled one back for Rovers before Lukas Haraslin struck late in injury time to seal the win for Sparta Praha.