Conference League: AEK Athens 1 (Jović pen 90) Shamrock Rovers 1 (Burke pen 21)
Swings and roundabouts. It took until the 86th minute before Spanish referee José Luis Munuera returned to the little screen on the edge of the pitch inside the Opap Arena.
More VAR. More injury-time.
Shamrock Rovers captain Pico Lopes had tried to act out the scene, showing how Danny Grant was being held by Petros Mantalos when his clearance hit his own arm from an AEK Athens corner.
Rovers had run out of luck. Penalty. Luka Jović slashed the spot kick beyond Ed McGinty to calm the increasingly frustrated natives with their shiny green lasers.
RM Block
Seven minutes of injury-time was announced as Jović raced back to the halfway line with the ball tucked under his arm. Seven minutes for Rovers to hold on and take a valuable point from a gripping Uefa Conference League tie.
From 71 per cent possession, the Greek side mustered 28 attacks. Rovers had eight but only needed one on a famous night for the Tallaght club.
There was 30 minutes on the clock when Munuera walked to the sideline to make a formal complaint, to a suited official presumably from Uefa, about the constant lasering of Rovers players.
A heavier than usual fine for AEK Athens should follow as the match officials were also targeted. This same scene played out in June 2023 when Greece beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 at this very venue. So whatever Uefa are doing to address the targeting of visiting players, mainly with five-figure fines, it is not working.
The lasers failed to effect Graham Burke as the Ireland international placed the ball on the penalty spot in the 21st minute. Burke’s face lit up with lines of green as AEK players remonstrated with Munuera but the Spaniard shrugged his shoulders and blamed the decision on his older brother, the VAR official Juan Martínez Munuera.
Completely against the run of play, Romanian international Razvan Marin made minimum contact before John McGovern went to ground in the box. Thomas Strakosha dived the right way, but Burke whipped a left foot finish beyond the Albanian goalkeeper.
Against all odds, Rovers led 1-0 at half-time.
Leading for any amount of time against an AEK team stacked full of international quality defied logic. This was not the Rovers XI that just captured a fifth League of Ireland title in six seasons and seem certain to complete the double against Cork City in the FAI Cup final on Sunday.
Far from it. McGovern, for example, is arguably the fourth choice centre forward behind the injured Aaron Greene, the rested Rory Gaffney and Michael Noonan, who is lighting up the Under-17 World Cup in Doha.
Gaffney and Josh Honohan did not even travel. “You have to mind Rory,” said Bradley of his 35-year-old forward. “He has been brilliant this year.” Honohan is managing a groin issue which will deny him a first cap for Ireland this month, but careful management should allow the wing back to feature in the Cup final.
Bradley also held Danny Mandroiu and Matt Healy – a front-runner for player of the season – in reserve, but yellow cards for Dylan Watts and Burke made their introductions seem inevitable. Bradley held his nerve, trusting his squad as Healy never appeared.
The statistics after 45 minutes told one version of what had just unfolded. Off 72 per cent possession, AEK had 10 attempts on Ed McGinty’s goal with Rovers inviting them on with poor distribution out of defence.
The eye-test told a different tale. Lopes was immense at the heart of an embattled defence. The Cape Verde international was largely unmarked, and therefore free to plug holes, as Mantalos played behind Jović. The Serbian striker was dangerous all night but Lopes calmly passed him off to Lee Grace and Daniel Clearly.
Dereck Kutesa, the Swiss left winger, also threatened to expose Rovers’ right flank. Bradley reacted at the break by replacing Alan Matthews with Grant, as Watts and Burke also made way for Aaron McEneff and Cian Barrett.
The Spanish linesman was the latest target of the laser brigade after he flagged Harold Moukoudis’ headed goal for offside.
Really, for their discipline and grit, Rovers deserved a result against a sloppy AEK. Next stop, the Aviva Stadium.
AEK Athens: Strakosha; Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios (Pereyra 90); Gainovíc (Vida 90), Pineda, Marin (Pierrot 46), Kutesa (Koita 46); Mantalos; Jovic.
Shamrock Rovers: McGinty; Matthews (Grant 46), Cleary, Lopes, Grace, O’Sullivan; Malley (Malley 72), Watts (McEneff 46), Nugent; Burke (Barrett 46), McGovern (Mandroiu 68).
Referee: José Luis Munuera (Spain).
