PAOK Salonika moved to the top of Europa League Group A with a comfortable 3-1 win over Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium.
PAOK got top, Shamrock eliminated
PAOK Salonika moved to the top of Europa League Group A with a comfortable 3-1 win over Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium.
The Greek side stormed into a 3-0 first-half lead with Giorgos Fotakis' strike sandwiched between two goals from Dimitris Salpingidis.
Billy Dennehy pulled one back for Shamrock in the 51st minute but the Irish side were unable to avoid a fourth successive group stage defeat.
The result means Shamrock can no longer progress to the knockout stages while PAOK go top following Tottenham's 1-0 defeat by FC Rubin Kazan.
Shamrock midfielder Chris Turner had the first chance of the match in the second minute but his 25-yard strike was caught by Kostas Chalkias.
But Salpingidis made the early breakthrough when Adelino Vieirinha fired a pass to put him clean through, allowing the striker to place his shot past the advancing Ryan Thompson.
It was a weak strike and the ball trickled in to the back of the net before Shamrock defender Craig Sives could make a clearance.
Chances
Shamrock had a couple of chances when Pat Sullivan forced Bruno Cirillo to make a clearance before Dennehy fired over the bar from 25 yards.
Georgios Georgiadis was then caught offside as the visitors looked to press home their advantage before his 20-yard strike was blocked by Dan Murray.
The resulting corner almost led to PAOK's second but Shamrock goalkeeper Thompson made two excellent saves.
Giorgos Fotakis fired in an inswinging corner which Thompson punched clear before he caught Georgiadis' 25-yard strike.
Thompson then denied PAOK again in the 25th minute when he caught Dorvalino Lino's shot from the right of the area.
Shamrock defender Enda Stevens had a chance cleared by Cirillo before Salpingidis had a shot blocked by Sives.
A second goal was always on the cards and Salpingidis was instrumental when he intercepted a pass and played in Fotakis who fired into the bottom left corner.
Close range
Salpingidis then netted PAOK's third three minutes later from close range after he got on to the end of Georgiadis' inch-perfect cross from the right.
Dennehy scored six minutes into the second-half when his 25-yard free-kick flew past PAOK goalkeeper Chalkias.
Vieirinha then hit the post and later saw his shot fly over the bar as the Athens side searched in vain for their fourth goal.
However, it was still a comfortable win for the Greek side which puts them one step closer to the knockout stages.
| Shamrock Rovers |
Team Statistics |
PAOK Salonika |
| 1 |
Goals |
3 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
3 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
7 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
8 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
7 |
| 6 |
Corners |
4 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
6 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.8 |
Passing Success |
83.3 |
| 8 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 75 |
Tackles Success |
90.5 |
| 45.6 |
Possession |
54.4 |
| 46.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
53.7 |
| 409 |
Total Passes |
508 |
| 31 |
Total Crosses |
19 |
| 176 |
Lost Balls |
153 |
| 51 |
Recoveries |
68 |
|
