Shamrock Rovers' Europa League campaign has started with defeat following a 3-0 home loss to Rubin Kazan.
Martins, Noboa and Karadeniz net win for Russians
Shamrock Rovers' Europa League campaign has started with defeat following a 3-0 home loss to Rubin Kazan.
The visitors got off to a flyer when former Newcastle and Birmingham striker Obafemi Martins opened the scoring with just three minutes on the clock.
Cristian Noboa doubled their advantage in the second half with Gokdeniz Karadeniz's effort in the 62nd minute ending any hope of an unlikely comeback from the hosts.
The loss leaves Shamrock bottom of Group A with Rubin the leaders on three points while the group's other games saw Tottenham secure a goalless draw at PAOK Salonika.
Rovers will renew their campaign with a glamour trip to Tottenham in a fortnight's time knowing the challenge will be no easier in north London.
The Hoops' very presence in the group stage of the competition - they are the first Irish club side to reach this stage - represents something of a fairytale, although the romance was quashed early on their big night.
Karadeniz, who was to prove a constant threat, made good ground down the left and cut inside before squaring the ball for Martins.
Adequate
The Nigeria international span swiftly and although his left-footed shot was not the cleanest he has ever struck, his placement was more than adequate to send it into the bottom corner.
If that was exactly the start the Russians would have wanted in the unfamiliar surroundings of a packed Tallaght Stadium, it was just the reverse for the hosts.
To their credit, they gradually forced their way into the game. And although they were grateful to see Valdez fire over the top after Martins had once again caused problems on the edge of the box with nine minutes gone, they were not fazed by the task ahead of them.
They went close to an equaliser after 16 minutes when former Spurs midfielder Rohan Ricketts found space down the left and crossed for O'Donnell, whose extra-time penalty in Belgrade last month earned the club their passage to the group stage. He beat goalkeeper Ryzhikov to the ball, but headed over.
Rubin, however, continued to enjoy the larger share of the possession and really should have put the result beyond doubt nine minutes before the break.
Martins managed to get himself on the wrong side of central defender Craig Sives and drove into the box, where he was sent sprawling by the Scot in his efforts to make up lost ground.
Hungarian referee Zsolt Szabo immediately pointed to the spot and Valdez stepped up confidently.
However, Thompson dived to his right to keep out the spot-kick and made a second block before skipper Dan Murray hacked clear to spare the home side further damage and send them in at the break still in the game.
Brighter
Martins did not reappear after the break as his place was taken by Petr Bystrov, and it was the home side who started the brighter to pin the Russians back inside their own half.
But that was short-lived and the visitors extended their lead in style with five minutes of the second half gone.
Shamrock could only clear Bystrov's deep cross to the edge of the penalty area, where Noboa did not need to break stride to rifle a stinging half-volley into the top corner despite Thompson's best efforts.
Rovers very nearly got themselves back into the game within seconds when Finn ran on to striker Gary Twigg's flick-on to head towards goal, but Ryzhikov made a fine reaction save to keep his effort out at point-blank range.
The Irish side's fading hopes were dealt a fatal blow on the hour when Karadeniz capped a fine individual display with an inch-perfect curling finish off the underside of the crossbar after latching on to Bebras Natcho's inviting pass.
O'Neill's men had a golden opportunity to grab a consolation goal four minutes later when Twigg was bundled to the ground inside the box by defender Cesar Navas.
But O'Donnell could not repeat his feat in Serbia as Ryzhikov saved with his legs as he dived to his left.
Rovers battled gamely as the clock ran down, but they were never able to find the quality they needed to take one of the half-chances which came their way as the visitors cruised towards the final whistle.
| Shamrock Rovers |
Team Statistics |
Rubin Kazan |
| 0 |
Goals |
3 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
7 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 3 |
Corners |
2 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.7 |
Passing Success |
81.3 |
| 10 |
Tackles |
12 |
| 60 |
Tackles Success |
83.3 |
| 48.4 |
Possession |
51.6 |
| 50.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
49.3 |
|
