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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark McCadden

A 17-year-old MOTM and a 40-year-old safe pair of hands - rating Rovers' Euro heroes

Shamrock Rovers might have lost the tie, but they picked up another impressive win on Thursday night, beating Ferencvaros 1-0 in Tallaght Stadium.

But how did each of Stephen Bradley's men perform against the Hungarians?

Here's how we rated the Hoops on another big European night:

ALAN MANNUS: Had a relatively quiet night, compared to last week’s first-leg, but still produced when called upon. Made two outstanding saves to deny Ryan Mmaee and keep a third clean sheet in eight European games so far this season. 8

SEAN GANNON: After his horror show last week in Budapest, Gannon was back to his best in Tallaght with a handful of notable interventions, including a great challenge just as substitute Marquinhos was about to pull the trigger. 7

SEAN HOARE: He was another one who endured a nightmare in the Groupama Arena, but last night he was calm, composed, strong in the tackle and impressive with his distribution. 8

LEE GRACE: Grace set the tone for his evening with an excellent early challenge on Tokmac Nguen and continued throughout to dominate both in the air and on the ground. 7

RONAN FINN: Back in the side after suspension last week, Finn helped steady things on the right-hand side, where last week Rovers were caught out throughout by overloads down that channel. 7

GARY O’NEILL: His passing was tidy and he won his personal duel with Norway international Tokmac Nguen, who resorted to some nasty early fouls on the midfielder. 8

SEAN KAVANAGH: A mixed bag when it came to his passing but he had some fine moments, including a free-kick that drew a fine save and a great cross that saw Richie Towell go close. 6

NEIL FARRUGIA: Was full of endeavour in his role as left-wing-back but was overshadowed on that side by the performance of Justin Ferizaj. 6

RICHIE TOWELL: He was inches away from scoring on a couple of occasions and linked up well with his fellow attackers. Booked just before half-time. 7

AIDOMO EMAKHU: The Ireland underage international drew a few fouls that went un-booked, so he could feel aggrieved to get a yellow himself. A livewire up front that the Ferencvaros defence often struggled with. 7

JUSTIN FERIZAJ: Last night’s man of the match, he showed his class and confidence right from the start and was unlucky not to mark his fabulous display with a first-half goal. His deliveries - both in play and from set-pieces - were a serious threat. 9

SUBS:

Andy Lyons (for Finn 64) - almost scored just minutes before netting the winner. 7

Aaron Greene (for Emakhu 64) - added fresh pace to Rovers' attack. 6

Gideon Tetteh (for Ferizaj 72) - another exciting member of the Hoops' youth production line. 6

Jack Byrne (for Towell 72) - showed his quality from set-pieces. 7

Dylan Watts (for Kavanagh 72) - wasn't on for long, but showed glimpses of his class. 6

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