Stephen Bradley rues missed chances as Rovers lose Champions League first leg encounter

Stephen Bradley rued his side's missed opportunities as the Irish champions were beaten 2-0 by Sparta Prague in tonight’s Champions League qualification clash at Tallaght Stadium.

The Hoops had chances to punish the visitors at either end of this exciting contest, and most notably when the game was in the balance early on as Neil Farrugia could have handed the hosts an early lead.

However, it was the visitors who proved most clinical and now the renowned Czech side take a two-goal advantage into next Tuesday’s second leg in Prague.

Rovers were undone in the 38th minute when they gifted their opponents the crucial opening goal as a result of some poor decision-making inside their own penalty area, which led to Veljko Birmancevic slamming the ball home.

The home side had fared well up to that point in the 38th minute, restricting Sparta to mere glimpses at goal, and while they were defending deep, they appeared in control against the powerful attacking unit of their esteemed visitors.

Symptomatic of their season thus far, perhaps, for the Hoops, who are struggling to retain their league title, sitting 13 points off league leaders Shelbourne with 13 games remaining.

And Rovers had to handle a sustained spell at the start of the second half to keep the deficit to the minimum as Bradley’s side looked to then start building momentum heading into the final 25 minutes.

But then the Hoops were hit by a sucker punch, as the visitors went the full length of the pitch in the 65th minute, before Tomas Wiesner arrived at the back post to double Sparta’s lead.

Rovers had two great chances to reduce the gap in injury time, however, Josh Honahan was denied at the death, leaving Rovers two goals adrift heading into next Tuesday’s Prague outing.

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