By Glenn Mason
Shamrock Rovers were made to pay for defensive errors as PAOK strolled to a 3-1 victory in Group A of the Europa League at Tallaght Stadium.
Two first half goals from Greek striker Dimitris Salpingidis and another from Giorgos Fotakis left PAOK in command and ended Rovers' hopes of a first point in the group.
The Hoops produced a spirited second half performance and Billy Dennehy's free-kick six minutes after the break gave some respectability to the scoreline.
Michael O'Neill will rue the concession of yet another early goal in Europe, which left them chasing the game and open to PAOK's swift attacks.
Rovers did themselves few favours with some woeful defending, but PAOK were impressive in the manner in which they punish those mistakes.
This was the 58th game of Rovers' season and it appeared that the effort to reach this stage had finally caught up with them on the rain-sodden heavy pitch.
The defeat also confirmed what many had already expected, in that Rovers will not be progressing beyond the group stage.
Still, Rovers fans have been in worse situations in the past and they sang "The Greeks are going bust. The Hoops are having a party", as the players emerged for the second half.
PAOK's win over Rovers two weeks ago was their only victory in October and the three points here will go some way to easing the pressure on Laszlo Boloni.
O'Neill again opted for five men in midfield with Karl Sheppard the lone man up front. Gary McCabe and Dennehy were tasked with supporting from wide areas.
The visitors were forced into a late change as Etto pulled out before kick-off and was replaced by Miroslaw Sznaucner. Costas Stafylidis took his place on the bench.
Fotakis and Georgos Georgiadis started in midfield in the two other changes from two weeks ago and they made their presence felt in a dominant display.
Pat Sullivan, Dennehy and Sheppard looked lively early on and they combined to create the space for Chris Turner, but Kostas Chalkias gathered his low shot.
Not for the first time in this competition, Rovers were ripped open at the back in the opening minutes.
Vieirinha had already struck the post and Craig Sives was lucky to get away with a handball before Salpingidis grabbed the opener on seven minutes.
Vieirinha picked out his team-mate inside the area and the Greece striker slid the ball past Ryan Thompson into the corner.
The goal left the home side rattled and they struggled to retain possession, leaving PAOK to knock the ball around at will.
Thompson kept the score down with fine saves from Lino and Georgiadis, but the poor defending was always likely to catch up with Rovers.
Salpingidis seized on Conor McCormack's misplaced pass to set up Fotakis, who beat Thompson to double the lead. PAOK were not done and Salpingidis finished off a fine team move for number three moments later to the delight of the travelling support.
There was the hint of a response before the break as Turner flicked on Stephen O'Donnell's cross, forcing Chalkias to tip over.
The half-time break gave Rovers the chance to regroup and saw the introduction of Gary Twigg and Ciaran Kilduff for Turner and McCabe.
A foul by Fotakis on Sheppard on the edge of the box gave PAOK cause for concern. Dennehy stepped up to fire in the free-kick off the post to reawaken the home crowd.
Bruno Cirillo also found his way into the referee's notebook for a trip on Kilduff. Dennehy whipped in the resulting free-kick but Sheppard's header flew wide.
Rovers may have been on the front foot but PAOK were always a threat and Thompson was called on to push Vieirinha's rasping drive on the bar.
Salpingidis gave up the chance for his hat-trick when he chose to square to Vieirinha rather than shoot himself, after the two had worked the opening.
At the other end, there was plenty of hustle and bustle from Rovers, with Rice and Dennehy shooting narrowly wide.
In a frantic finale, Dan Murray blocked on Costin Lazar's goal-bound effort and Vieirinha blazed over with the goal at his mercy.
Kilduff was denied a late goal when his header was cleared off the line injury-time.
Rovers do not play again until 30 November when they are in Russia for the return game against Rubin Kazan, which gives them plenty of time for contemplation.
Shamrock Rovers: 16 Thompson; 2 Sullivan, 4 Sives, 5 Murray, 3 Stevens; 22 McCormack (6 Rice '70), 7 McCabe (9 Twigg h/t), 8 O’Donnell, 18 Turner (11 Kilduff h/t), 20 Dennehy; 10 Sheppard.
Subs not used: 1 Brush, 21 Finn, 26 Paterson, 27 Ricketts.
Booked: Sullivan
PAOK SALONIKA: 1 Chalkias; 27 Sznaucner, 8 Cirillo, 13 Malezas, 16 Lino; 85 Arias, 25 Lazar; 7 Georgiadis (2 Apostolopoulos '88), 18 Fotakis (4 Balafas '64), 20 Vieirinha; 9 Salpingidis (14 Papazoglou '90).
Subs not used: 91 Kresic, 3 Costas Stafylidis, 11 Robert, 35 Kitsiou.
Booked: Fotakis, Cirillo, Lino.
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Bulgaria)
