Shamrock Rovers facing uphill task as Sparta Prague conquer Tallaght

Shamrock Rovers have left themselves with an uphill task to keep their Champions League dream alive, as they were defeated 2-0 by Sparta Prague in their second-round first-leg qualifying clash at Tallaght Stadium.

Despite an encouraging start to the game from the Hoops, Veljko Birmancevic broke the deadlock in the 38th minute as Sparta capitalised on a defensive error inside the Rovers penalty area.

And then Tomas Wiesner added a second in the 65th minute for the Czech side who put in a professional performance to ease to victory ahead of next week's return game in Prague.

Close to a full house at Tallaght Stadium for this European encounter - with 9,684 present - and there was little to separate the sides throughout the opening ten minutes, with Rovers enjoying slightly more joy in the attacking department, winning an early free outside the box, which was wasted by Dylan Watts.

The visitors were certainly looking a touch rusty in those early stages, wasting possession, while lacking the energetic approach to unsettle the home side.

Yet it was a cautious start from the Irish champions, who were content to sit deep inside their own half with Johnny Kenny the only outlet in attack.

Then the game burst into life in the 14th minute thanks to a surging run following some great skill from Neil Farrugia. The midfielder charged all the way into the box before feeding Kenny, however, his low effort was blocked en route to goal.

It took 20 minutes for Sparta to spark into life, and it came courtesy of a long-range Martin Vitik strike, which was helped over the bar by Leon Pohls, who perhaps should have held onto the arrowed effort.

Midway through and Sparta started to step up a gear or two as Vitik starting to influence on right, while