Shamrock Rovers booked their place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League with a fine display against Flora Tallinn that saw them draw 0-0 in Estonia and win 1-0 on aggregate.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg in Tallaght thanks to a Chris Turner goal, the Hoops controlled the game from start to finish and although they we never able to extend their lead, they rarely looked to be in trouble.
Rovers manager Michael O’Neill made just one change to his starting line-up, bringing in Conor McCormack for Stephen O’Donnell and the visitors, cheered on by a large and vocal travelling support, settled quickly.
But it was Talinn who had the first real chance of the game. Sergei Mosnikov shot wide from 20-yards and moments later Henri Anier skyed a pullback over the crossbar, as the home side looked to erase Rovers’ first leg advantage.
That was as good as it got for Talinn as Rovers began to control proceedings. On twenty minutes Ronan Finn got on the end of a Gary Twigg knock-down but dragged his left-foot shot wide when he should have hit the target.
Five minutes later, Dean Kelly got the ball wide on the left and beat two men before shooting over the bar from just inside the 18-yard box.
Enda Stevens then found himself unmarked as he gathered the ball 25 yards out but his shot went just to the right of Stanislav Pedok's goal.
Finn and Stevens continued to cause problems for the Estonians down the left hand side. Finn cut inside his marker but his shot was deflected over. With five minutes left in the half, Stevens was fouled just outside the box but Finn's effort hit the wall.
The Hoops went in at the break well on top and O’Neill was content to avoid tinkering with his side, knowing that any kind of draw would be good enough.
After the break, the Dubliners picked up right where they left-off. Five minutes after the restart, Stevens launched in a teasing cross from the left which Billy Dennehy managed to get his head to, but couldn’t direct on target.
Stevens was a constant threat for Rovers out on the left flank and minutes later he floated over another dangerous cross that goalkeeper Pedok dropped, only to collect at the second time of asking.
The expected second-half pressure from the home side never materialised as they struggled to get a touch on the ball, with the Rovers midfield in imperious form.
It seemed only a matter of time before the Hoops got the goal that would kill the tie. Ken Oman went close as he got on the end of a fizzed-in cross from Dennehy, while Finn’s long-range effort on 70 minutes went just wide of the left post.
As the clock wore down the Talinn players appeared to tire, left chasing shadows and struggling to contain Rovers at the back as Stevens and Dennehy in particular continued to probe down the wings.
It was Stevens who provided Rovers with their best chance of the game as his teasing cross was met by the head of Dean Kelly, who did everything right, only to see Podak pull out a great diving save.
And so Rovers had to content themselves with a scoreless draw that saw them book their place in the third qualifying round against Champions League regulars FC Copenhagen.
