Resilient Rovers rattle Real

GUESS what? We went to see a circus and a football match broke it.

People who feared that Real Madrid might merely go through the motions here reckoned without the need of even megabucks players to reassure their new manager that they are willing to put in some hard yards in pre-season.

And they reckoned also without the spirit and pride of Shamrock Rovers, a side who might be challenging for their own title but still relished the opportunity to try and claim a prized scalp on a once in a multi-million night at Tallaght Stadium.

Okay, so no-one was ever going to mistake this for a Champions League game but, even after wholesale half-time substitutions, the contest retained a reasonably competitive edge right up until Karim Benzema showed his class to seal it for the much-vaunted visitors almost at the death.

In a sun-splashed setting in front of a crowd just shy of 11,000, Real Madrid were in their classic all-white strip but, though Shamrock Rovers were wearing unfamiliar purple, there was not much off-colour about their attitude.

Right from the off, it was clear that the visiting aristocrats were in for a robust Tallaght welcome. Just 30 seconds in, Ronaldo’s fleet-footed run straight at the heart of the Rovers’ defence was brought to an abrupt end by a, shall we say, uncompromising intervention by Pat Flynn. Or, to put it in the vernacular: the full back steamed in, Ronaldo went up in the air – and then, to rub salt in his wounds, referee Alan Kelly chose not to award a free, thereby depriving the €94 million man of the chance to kick-start his Real Madrid career with a bit of dead-ball magic on the edge of the box.

In fact, a full 21 minutes elapsed before Ronaldo finally found himself standing over the motionless ball, hunching his shoulders and taking a deep breath in the familiar choreography of his free-kick routine. But this time, much to the glee of the Rovers support behind the goal, his effort flew harmlessly off course. “Who are ya, who are ya?” chorused the Tallaght choir. And he didn’t get much a much more sympathetic response from his opponents on the pitch, as Craig Sives demonstrated when he went through the former Manchester United man for a short cut. This time referee Kelly, perhaps conscious of the glares from the Madrid dug-out. didn’t hesitate to flash the yellow card

A Darragh Maguire block on Raul, after the veteran striker had been cleverly put in by Ronaldo, ensured Madrid had nothing to show for their dominance of possession at the break – at which point, Ronaldo’s work was done for the night, as Manuel Pellegrini made no less than nine changes, while Rovers boss Michael O’ Neill settled for a more conservative five. And with more coming as the second period wore on, this became not so much a game of two halves as a match of four teams.

Still, amidst all the human traffic, there was no disguising the outstanding talent on the pitch. Just short of the hour mark, Karim Benzema, a relative snip at €42m from Lyons, showed his threat with a stunning shot from 25 yards which somehow stayed out after striking the inside of the Rovers post.

But, to their credit, the Hoops endeavoured to give as good as they got, Tadhg Purcell seeing his looping header acrobatically cleared off the line by Alvaro Negredo and then Dessie Baker, racing onto the end of a classic route one ball, firing a dipping shot over the top with Dudek stranded. At the other end, Rafael van der Vaart had a spectacular midair volley on the turn, brilliantly turned over the top by substitute ‘keeper Robert Duggan while Simon Madden was required to perform similar heroics to Negredo to clear another Benzema effort off the line.

But there was to be no denying the French ace when, with just three minutes of normal time remaining, he showed Zidane-like strength and control, to take down a high ball at the first attempt, and then hold Aidan Price at bay before coolly slipping the ball past Robert Duggan in the Rovers goal.

A quality goal from a quality player – and, though a long time coming, a fitting conclusion to an enjoyable night in Tallaght.

Substitutes used by Shamrock Rovers: Price, Bradley, Cahill, Treacy, Duggan, Purcell, Baker, McGill, Twigg, Madden.

Substitutes used by Real Madrid: Salgado, Heinze, Garay, Sneijder,Parejo, Drenthe, Van Der Vaart, Benzema, Negredo, Tebar.

Referee: Alan Kelly.