Shamrock Rovers dig deep to draw with Vikingur Reykjavik

Shamrock Rovers' Champions League first qualifying round tie with Víkingur Reykjavík is evenly poised going into the second leg at Tallaght Stadium, after the two teams drew 0-0 in their first leg meeting at the Víkingsvöllur in Iceland.

The Hoops had to dig deep to make sure they got the result, as Darragh Nugent was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 81st minute.

Víkingur went into the qualifier looking to extend a twelve game unbeaten run in all competitions, and they used home comforts to dominate possession.

Stephen Bradley reacted accordingly by turning his back-three into a back-five when defending, and this forced the Icelandic side to go wide.

The Hoops still created chances, with the first coming from a Josh Honohan cross inside the first minute. Karl Fridleifur Gunnarsson put this out for a corner which was cleared to Dylan Watts, and the midfielder had a cross headed wide by Roberto Lopes.

Víkingur won their first corner in the 10th minute and Pablo Punyed’s in-swinging set piece was turned towards goal by Jón Guðni Fjóluson. Leon Pohls managed to get a hand to this, and the loose ball was rebounded off the post by Erlingur Agnarsson.

An explosive opening petered out into a prolonged period in possession for the home side.

Rovers stood their ground and forced the likes of Danijel Djuric to try his luck from distance, and that attempt rolled harmlessly wide.

The dividend for Bradley and his players’ was a stalemate at half-time, and the game restarted with Watts picking out Nugent with a long-ball over the top. The midfielder, who was standing on the penalty spot, had no time to get a shot away as Oliver Ekroth and Gunnarsson closed down and won possession back for their side.

Víkingur almost took the