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Fiorentina 2-0 The New Saints
Fiorentina were forced to overcome a staunch defensive display to eventually claim a convincing 2-0 victory over The New Saints in the UECL, with the Welsh club turning in a battling performance in what was their first-ever game in the main draw of a major European competition.
La Viola have developed something of a love-hate relationship with the UECL, having finished runner-ups in the competition for the past two seasons and for large parts of the first half, they were dealt another largely frustrating experience against the perennial Welsh champions.
Much like their Artemio Franchi home, Raffaele Palladino’s Fiorentina remains in a state of reconstruction.
The Italian side have won just one of their eight matches inside 90 minutes this season (D6, L1) and despite heavily dominating possession, they laboured their way through the opening period with little end product. Christian Kouamé’s 11th-minute strike seemed destined for the bottom corner were it not for a fine fingertip save from Saints goalkeeper Connor Roberts.
While on the stroke of half-time, Rolando Mandragora’s right-footed curler beat Roberts but was thwarted by the post as Saints were rewarded for their disciplined first-half display with a slice of good fortune.
The early stages of the second period continued in a similar vein, with the lack of any meaningful response from the Italians forcing Palladino to turn to his bench before the hour-mark to inject some attacking impetus into his ailing side.
Emboldened by the triple-change, Fiorentina were finally able to prise Saints open and two strikes in four minutes drastically changed the complexion of the game.
Yacine Adli fired through a crowded goalmouth from the edge of the 18-yard area 65 minutes after being picked out by Jonathan Ikone to break the deadlock, before La Viola quickly added a second when Adli’s miss-hit strike took a fortuitous deflection, allowing substitute Moise Kean to bundle home a close-range finish.
With the two-goal advantage, Fiorentina comfortably saw out the duration of the contest. Kean somehow squandered the opportunity to notch his second from just two yards out, but that miss mattered not as Fiorentina comfortably secured their 11th victory in their last 17 UECL home games ahead of a weekend clash against Milan.
Saints will return home from a commendable performance with Craig Harrison’s side turning their attentions to a clash at Briton Ferry on the same day, such is the disparity between the two sides.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jonathan Ikone (Fiorentina)
Shamrock Rovers 1-1 APOEL
APOEL will be ruing their inability to kill off 10-man Shamrock Rovers as the hosts snatched a late point in the battle between the champions of Ireland and Cyprus.
The early stages of the first half were dominated by the visitors who clearly brought their own ball with them and wouldn't let the hosts have a kick. However, that didn’t result in any clear-cut chances with Marquinhos’ strike from the edge of the box on 17 minutes the first but it whistled wide of Leon Pöhls’ left post.
Rovers’ German keeper presented Marquinhos with another chance ten minutes later when he came to the edge of his box and awkwardly chested the ball to APOEL’s Brazilian playmaker but his looping overhead kick landed wide. Stephen Bradley’s side did come back into proceedings without really looking threatening as the away fans made for a wonderful atmosphere as they drowned out the home support for the most part.
The hosts began the second half in more positive fashion with Johnny Kenny threatening but they were dealt a blow just four minutes in when Neil Farrugia picked up a second yellow card for a tug on Marquinhos. José Dominguez’s side immediately went on the offensive and Rovers had Dan Cleary to thank for deflecting a goal-bound Sergio Tejera effort over.
Pöhls then produced a stunning save just before the hour to deny Konstantinos Laifis from a corner only to watch on in vain as the same man buried a header from the resulting set-piece. The Hoops did not wilt and their top-scorer Kenny was threatening again as he shrugged off Laifis to latch on to a Danny Mandriou through-ball on 72 minutes only to be denied from a narrow angle by Vid Belec.
Marquinhos should have killed the game off on 85 minutes when he robbed Josh Honohan on the left-hand side of the box but disappointingly flashed his effort across the face of goal. That proved to be costly as Rovers snatched a point when sub Dylan Watts powered home a header from Jack Byrne’s stoppage time corner.
That will give them a boost not only in the League of Ireland title run-in but for their short trip north to take on Larne in the next Conference League game while APOEL will look to seal all three points against Bosnian newcomers Borac Banja Luka in a fortnight’s time.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dylan Watts (Shamrock Rovers)
Molde 3-0 Larne
Earlier, Molde ground out a 3-0 victory over European debutants Larne at the Aker Stadium in the opening round of the UEFA Conference League (UECL) League Phase.
As was expected heading into this game, the hosts dominated possession right from the off and had their first half-chance on eight minutes when Ola Brynhildsen dragged well wide from a central position. Molde’s forward momentum continued and, on 20 minutes, Isak Amundsen should have done better with a free header from a corner instead of planting his effort wide.
Larne struggled to get going, with the little threat they did have coming from down the flanks, but Molde goalkeeper Albert Posiadala was largely untested. On 37 minutes,his opposite number Rohan Ferguson had to be alert to get a touch on Brynhildson’s effort before his Scottish compatriot Shaun Want cleared off the line.
Larne had their first real chance of the game four minutes after the break when Andy Ryan struck a left-footed volley wide, but the five-time Norwegian champions opened the scoring shortly after through their captain. Half-time sub Kristian Eriksen did well to get to the byline, and his cutback from the right was strode on to and smashed home by Magnus Wolff Eikrem. The skipper had another chance midway through the half as the hosts tried to put the back-to-back Northern Irish champions to bed, linking up with the dangerous Brynhildson before sending a looping volley goal-bound. Ferguson, though, was equal to it as he tipped it onto the roof of the net.
Eventually, Brynhildson secured the three points with just over 10 minutes to go, with Larne the masters of their own downfall. Former Tottenham midfielder George Marsh turned over possession in midfield, which Brynhildsen took advantage of to clinically finish after Want and his captain Tomás Cosgrove got in each other’s way.
Larne sub Conor McKendry was then sent off for a reckless challenge as the game entered stoppage time, allowing Molde to add a late third through Frederik Ihler, who had earlier struck the post. Up next for Erling Moe’s side in Europe is a trip to Belgium to face Gent, while Tiernan Lynch’s men will host Shamrock Rovers in a mouth-watering all-Irish tie.
Flashcore Man of the Match: Ola Brynhildsen (Molde)
