Albert Riera continues to search for a magic wand, but this time at least celebrated for the first time: Celje will defend its lead in Ireland against Shamrock
Photo: Urban Lesjak
Celje secured a narrow advantage in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the Europa League against Shamrock Rovers, but it was far from an impressive performance at Stadium Z’dežele. Albert Riera, who recently replaced Damir Krznjar, earned his first win in the statistics after two consecutive losses, but his team’s performance was anything but dazzling. The Irish team was ripe for a bigger defeat, but considering a few of their counterattacks, Celje can be somewhat relieved that it ended with just a 1-0 scoreline…
Although Shamrock had the first opportunity of the match within seconds (less than 10 minutes in, Aaron Greene ran towards the home goalkeeper Lovro Štubljar but shot high over the bar), it quickly became clear who would be in control on the poor playing surface of the Celje stadium. Quality was on the side of the Slovenian champions, who went into the break with a minimal lead. This was secured by Luka Menalo, who in the 34th minute weaved through the Irish defense, evading two opponents and scoring with a diagonal shot into the far corner of the net, which was guarded by Leon Pohis.
Earlier, Armandas Kučys could have scored again, and Aljoša Matko also had his chance for a goal. Based on what was seen, Celje could have taken a significant step towards advancement in the first half, but in the second half, the Slovenian champions were not as convincing. Rolando Aarons and Denis Popović had good opportunities to extend the lead, as did Ivan Brnić and Menalo, but it was all in vain. The pitch was difficult to play on, and the ball bounced around too much, but this cannot excuse the poor finishing from Celje in attack.
The Irish team was also dangerous a few times, with Aaron McEneff coming close, but Lovro Štubljar made a good save. In short, Celje was the better team, deserved the win, but Albert Riera will have several reasons not to be overflowing with happiness and joy.
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
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