Johnny Kenny brace and last-gasp Vikingur penalty miss extends ten-man Shamrock Rovers' Champions League journey

Shamrock Rovers will face Sparta Prague in Tallaght next week in the second qualifying round of the world's premier competition after a game that had it all in the capital.

The Johnny Kenny-inspired Hoops overcame a limited if spirited Vikingur Reykjavik, who had a penalty kick to force extra-time against the ten-man hosts with the game's last kick, only for Nikolaj Hansen to miss after sending Leon Pohls the wrong way.

Kenny blew two huge openings off the bench in the first leg but he brushed any disappointment to one side, converting twice with aplomb within 20 minutes.

However, Hansen's goal with a third of the game to go and Jack Byrne's subsequent red card ensured nails were bitten right until the wire in Tallaght Stadium.

Eight minutes of injury time had been played when Karl Fridleifur Gunnarsson aimed a ball towards the box and it fell for Valdimar Ingimundarson who was fouled by Pico Lopes.

With Tallaght suddenly a hostile place for Hansen, he projected coolness and then some, only for his shot to hit the outside of the post and go wide.

It was quite a night all around, even if Rovers will feel they have so much to improve on. And, while manager Stephen Bradley may rightly have contextualised the pressure the club was under in recent weeks, there is no escaping from how damaging it would have been had they exited the Champions League at their first go two years running.

The Czech champions will be in another league to Vikingur and the Hoops will be no prisoner to illusion; nor will the locals among the 7,632 Tallaght audience.

Even so, victory here ensured a seven-figure bounty and a guarantee of at least two more ties – job done in some respects.

Admittedly, this felt quite different to the road Shamrock Rovers have