Vieirinha thwarts Rovers’ hopes

FOR 15 fleeting minutes last night, the Toumba Stadium in Thessalonika looked it might just prove the place, as suggested when the draw was made, where Shamrock Rovers could pick up a result in Group A.

Having conceded yet another early goal in a backs-to-the-wall first half, Karl Sheppard’s equaliser early in the second half stunned the raucous home crowd to put PAOK on the back foot for the first time in the game to make Rovers believe.

But a second brilliantly struck goal restored PAOK’s lead and they deservedly saw out their first win in the pool.