85 mins: A few sloppy touches by Molde as they look tired, maybe another one in this for Rovers if they can get Burke on the ball.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
82 mins: Yellow card for Cleary, who will be suspended for the second leg. A bit of cynical play, but pretty needless to do it in the Molde half. Noonan comes off now for Greene, what a dream match for the 16-year-old.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
79 mins: Good piece of defending by Grace, who has been rock solid tonight. Stenevik picks up another yellow card for Molde.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
76 mins: Rovers with a spell of possession and then Mandroiu looks like he’s fouled but ref says so no free-kick outside the box.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
74 mins: Eikrem is off for Enggard as Molde try to get back into it, Stenevik nutmegs Honohan and wins a free-kick not far from the box but Rovers clear. Enggard then fouls Mandroiu and Rovers are safe.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
69 mins: Very dangerous cross by Honohan after he was nicely played in on the wing, just put out by Molde. Graham Burke is coming on for Dylan Watts, who had a fine game tonight.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
66 mins: Defensive mix-up by Rovers almost lets Molde in, but soon afterwards Noonan wins another clever foul up the pitch against Amundsen. What a performance by him so far.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
61 mins: Corner for Molde and then a spell of pressure as Grant clears, eventually it’s a free out for a foul by Eikrem, not a popular one with the home fans.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
57 mins: GOAL FOR SHAMROCK ROVERS! Teenager Michael Noonan scores. Great pressuring from Dylan Watts who caught Daehli on the ball inside the box, he then played a simple ball in for a poacher’s finish for Noonan.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 1
55 mins: The Molde keeper Karlstorm nearly loses the ball from a heavy touch and just about clears it. Rovers putting pressure on without creating anything significant.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
53 mins: Dangerous attack for Molde, Eriksen gets past Cleary and they had numbers in the box, but a poor cross out of play in the end.
Shot for Rovers as Healy takes a powerful shot from outside the box, just wide after Grant drove at the defence.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
49 mins: Honohan is fouled cynically outside the box and Haugan is booked. Good area for Rovers for the free-kick. Watts with a great ball in but well headed away by Molde and they survive.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
The second half is under way.
After the restart there is an accidental clash of heads between Honohan and Eriksen, they’ll receive treatment.
45 mins: Dylan Watts unlucky to get a yellow card as the Molde player seems to buy the foul, Watts will miss the second leg in Tallaght.
Half-time: Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
A cagey start to the game and Molde dominated the early stages, but Rovers eased into the game and then that massive moment, as Lund got sent off for taking out Noonan running through on goal. Great European debut by Noonan up front and the game is there for the taking now with a man up.
44 mins: Gulbrandsen comes off, their striker, and on comes Haugan to cover the defender.
Then a big chance from the set-piece, best chance of the game, headed down to Lopes when six yards out but kicks it wide. Not the man you wanted there.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
42 mins: Nice composed spell by Rovers leads to the Molde keeper punching out a Honohan cross. Rovers keep the ball for a few minutes. Then it ends up with a deflected shot by Mandroiu after some good play.
Then a red card for Molde! Wow Lund is sent off after Noonan was played through in behind and Lund takes him out. Clear red card.
39 mins: Mandroiu is booked after a clumsy tackle near the sideline. Dangerous cross by Molde but McGinty sweeps it up confidently.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
37 mins: Dodgy call by the referee as it looked like Lopes got the ball with a strong challenge, but at least avoids a yellow which would leave him suspended for next week.
Good counter play by Noonan as he wins a foul on his own against Breivik who is booked. Rovers have a free-kick from about 40 yards out, but it’s cleared. Then a risky pass back to the goalkeeper by Healy, but McGinty is out quickly to clear.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
33 mins: Call for a penalty as Mandroiu tumbles just outside the box. Could have been a free-kick anyway, but wasn’t given. Then a strong block from the counter by Lopes as Rovers continue to defend well.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
30 mins: Some nice touches by Noonan and Rovers progress up to the box from a throw, McEneff with a clumsy touch though. Eikrem then shows his class with a great touch but well defended again by Rovers.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
24 mins: It’s all Molde on the ball so far, although without testing the keeper too much until now. Finally a few attempts. It ends up with Amundsen from a corner and he takes a few touches in the air and then volleys well over. Then Molde get another shot on target through Eriksen as he made a clever but hit it straight at the keeper weakly.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
21 mins: Noonan tries to get in behind but he’s mistimed his run and he’s offside, first time Rovers got near the Molde box. Lund has given him a very rough challenges to let him know he’s there.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
17 mins: Good tackle by Grace from a dangerous run, it’s 74 per cent possession for Molde in the first 15 minutes. But finally Shamrock Rovers string a few passes together.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
14 mins: Mats Moller Daehli getting plenty on the ball in midfield, he was in the youth set-up at Manchester United. A passive start from Rovers, struggling to get a hold on the ball.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
11 mins: Cagey game so far, with Molde dominating possession but mostly in deep areas so far. They win a corner after 10 minutes with Cleary looking for a foul as he clears the ball out. They go short and then cross it but it’s cleared away.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
8 mins: Eikrem gets into a dangerous area in the box and imposing himself on the game, but Rovers stay firm. No shots for either team yet.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
5 mins: Molde playing several long balls in behind, trying to catch Rovers out. Noonan’s first touch is to get fouled on the halfway line as he got ahead of his defender.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
2 mins: Early interception by Danny Grant on his return to Rovers as Molde try to play in behind, but Rovers hold off the early pressure without much fuss.
Molde 0 Shamrock Rovers 0
The teams head out on the field, the match will begin in a few minutes.
A good read on Shamrock Rovers’s opposition this evening, Molde, by James McDermott, including a random appearance by the great Erling Haaland at UCD!
[ Irish teams have been plagued by Molde but Shamrock Rovers need not fearOpens in new window ]
Wow, 16-year-old Michael Noonan starts for Rovers!
Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty; Dan Cleary, Pico Lopes (capt), Lee Grace; Danny Grant, Matt Healy, Aaron McEneff, Josh Honohan; Dylan Watts, Danny Mandrouiu; Michael Noonan
Molde: Karlstrom, Stenevik, Amundsen, Lund, Haugen, Moller Dahli, Breivik, Eriksen, Eikrem, Kaasa, Gulbrandsen
Here is Gavin Cummiskey’s match preview:
“On paper, Molde are the superior outfit, mixing Norwegian solidity with a Danish spine of Valdemar Lund, Mads Enggård and the prolific Frederik Ihler.
“It is possible that Bradley’s understrength squad – certainly in comparison to last year – will run out of European road before the League of Ireland begins against Bohemians at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday and the Conference League’s second-leg goes to Tallaght next Thursday.
“But to doubt Rovers after last year’s results, particularly against Cypriot and Austrian opposition, might prove unwise, even if the loss of Johnny Kenny, Neil Farrugia and Darragh Burns raises legitimate concerns about their attack.”
[ Shamrock Rovers visit Molde with concerns over lack of firepower up frontOpens in new window ]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Uefa Conference League playoff first leg between Molde FK and Shamrock Rovers. It is uncharted territory for a League of Ireland team to be this far into the competition and Rovers go into the playoff round with confidence after almost qualifying for the last 16 in automatically in December, only losing out on goal difference to Belgian side Cercle Brugge. Their reward is a tie against the Norwegian side Molde, who should provide a sturdy test, but not an unsurmountable one for Stephen Bradley’s men.
Since the group stages, they have lost a few key players, most notably Johnny Kenny who has gone back to Celtic, as well as Neil Farrugia and Darragh Burns, but they have added to their squad with the signing of Danny Grant from Bohs. Molde just scraped into the playoff round and had a mediocre season in Norway, but have some good players for this level. Kick-off from the Aker Stadium is at 5.45pm Irish time.
