Latest news with #NikoJankovic
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Shelbourne come from behind to seal impressive first-leg win in Croatia
Shelbourne came from a goal down to earn a 2-1 away win in the first leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier against HNK Rijeka. Niko Jankovic's opener for the Croatian side was cancelled out quickly by a Sam Bone header before John Martin ensured Shelbourne take a one-goal lead back to Tolka Park for the second leg next Tuesday. Advertisement The hosts had the better of the first 45 and could have got the opener just before the break as Jankovic forced Wessel Speel into a good save. Rijeka opened the scoring 11 minutes after the interval when Speel committed a foul inside the area and Jankovic made no mistake from the spot to make it 1-0. Shelbourne were only behind for a couple of minutes though, as Kerr McInroy's delivery from a corner picked out James Norris and his header was turned in by Bone. The visitors turned the game on its head 20 minutes from time – Harry Wood provided the cross onto the head of Martin, who nodded home at the back post to seal an impressive win.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Rijeka 1 Shelbourne 2: As it happened – Joey O'Brien's men come from behind to win on road in Europa League
Ultan Corcoran League of Ireland champions Shelbourne face a stern test as they go up against Croatia's Rijeka in the Europa League third qualifying round. Ultan Corcoran brings you all the action with kick-off at 7.45pm. 70' Sam Bone 58' Niko Jankovic 56' 11 minutes ago I'm afraid that's all we have time for this evening! It was a pleasure to keep you up to date with the action. Whether you are a Shels fan or not, this is another momentous night for the League of Ireland as a whole! We will be back tomorrow to cover more action involving Irish clubs in Europe as Shamrock Rovers take on Ballkani, while Athletic face the might of Besiktas. Here's Dan McDonnell's summary on Shels' night below: Match Finished Shelbourne take a 2-1 lead back to Dublin! A strange finish to the game as Rijeka appeal for a penalty. Radeljic's effort struck Sam Bone's arm, but it didn't look convincing whatsoever. The VAR check passes by and the final whistle sounds - Shels have won it! Incredible work from Joey O'Brien's side as they go to receive the adulation of the hundred or so travelling Shels fans. Inside a giant cage no less, that wouldn't look out of place in Dublin Zoo. They fell behind to a Niko Jankovic penalty, but the League of Ireland champions responded through Sam Bone and John Martin. In doing so, Shels have gone one better than they fared in Croatia 21 years ago - a 3-2 defeat to Hajduk Split. This time, the Drumcondra club take a 2-1 aggregate advantage back to Tolka Park next week! 90'+3 Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Tiago Dantas BLOCKED! In desperation, Rijeka hoof the ball in deep and it breaks out to the edge of the box for Tiago Dantas. The Portuguese midfielder smacks it, but Paddy Barrett gets his body in the way. Sheer bravery from the captain. 90' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Luka Melano This time from Luka Melano turns provider with a whipped delivery to the back post. Ante Orec tries to sneak in but the pace on the ball beats him. Goal kick for Shels who are holding their own here approaching the final whistle. We will have a minimum of 3 minutes injury time added on by the Spanish officials. 87' The change in midfield is supplemented with a swap at right-back with the experienced Sean Gannon taking over from Milan Mbeng - the latter was pretty excellent tonight. 81' A little bit of gamesmanship creeping in for Shelbourne as Speel goes down to receive attention... and sure, what harm! They have the lead and every second they can kill off the clock could prove crucial. 77' Joey O'Brien also turns to his bench and calls upon the services of Ellis Chapman. Harry Wood departs with that crucial assist for the second goal under his belt. 77' Substitution Rijeka Substituted out Simun Butic Substituted in Dominic Yankov A fifth and final alteration for Rijeka as Bulgarian midfielder Yankov replaces teenager Butic. 76' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Anel Husic Another speculative effort and another routine save. Half-time substitute Husic gives it a go from 35-yards - Wessel Speel is right behind the strike. 70' Goal Shelbourne Scorer John Martin Assist Harry Wood GOAL! Suddenly Shels are in the lead! Its simple football but its oh so effective as the away end goes wild. Milan Mbeng slips it to Harry Wood on the right. The Englishman crosses to John Martin who directs his header inside the far post. Textbook finish giving Zlomislic no chance. 70' A double change for Rijeka - one in attack and one in midfield - as Duje Cop takes over from Juric and Amir Gojak is replaced by Luka Menalo. 66' Scoring Chance Shelbourne Player John Martin CLOSE! What an effort from John Martin. The Kilkenny native picked the ball up in the half space and turned for goal. He has a pop from a good 30-yards and it whistles just past the left upright. Martin Zlomislic was at full stretch in the Rijeka goal! 62' The game has really increased in pace in the last few minutes, evidenced by the goals. Rijeka go in search of a reply but Harry Wood manages to hook the ball away from Jankovic. 58' Goal Shelbourne Scorer Sam Bone Assist James Norris GOAL! Shels have responded in a flash here. Unbelievable reply from the League of Ireland side. Kerr McInroy works a short corner before whipping it to the back post. Jamie Norris arrives to keep the ball alive with a wonderful header and Sam Bone bravely bundles it in on the goal-line. Beautiful training ground move! 56' Goal Rijeka Scorer Niko Jankovic GOAL! In front of the hardcore Rijeka support, Niko Jankovic steps up and drills his penalty down the middle of the goal. Wessel Speel dives to his right and can't get near it. Rijeka take the lead. 56' Penalty Rijeka Shooter Niko Jankovic PENALTY! Oh this is cruel for Shels. Sam Bone's pass back to Wessel Speel is fine, but the Netherlands goalkeeper takes too much time to make up his mind and Ndockyt races in to get a touch and milk the penalty in the process. 54' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Tiago Dantas Once a highly rated prospect at Bayern Munich, Tiago Dantas picks out Niko Jankovic. The 23-year-old has a go from range but this time it lacks the accuracy to test Speel.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Rijeka v Shelbourne: Joey O'Brien's men back level after falling behind to penalty in Europa League
Live | League of Ireland champions Shelbourne face a stern test as they go up against Croatia's Rijeka in the Europa League third qualifying round. Ultan Corcoran brings you all the action with kick-off at 7.45pm. Sam Bone 58' Niko Jankovic 56' 66' Scoring Chance Shelbourne Player John Martin CLOSE! What an effort from John Martin. The Kilkenny native picked the ball up in the half space and turned for goal. He has a pop from a good 30-yards and it whistles just past the left upright. Martin Zlomislic was at full stretch! 62' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Justas Lasickas SAVE! Having taken over from Devetak on the left flank, the Lithuanian full-back cuts inside on his right foot and thumps an effort goalwards - Wessel Speel gets a strong fist behind it to push it behind for a corner. 62' The game has really increased in pace in the last few minutes, evidenced by the goals. Rijeka go in search of a reply but Harry Wood manages to hook the ball away from Jankovic. 58' Goal Shelbourne Scorer Sam Bone Assist James Norris GOAL! Shels have responded in a flash here. Unbelievable reply from the League of Ireland side. Kerr McInroy works a short corner before whipping it to the back post. Jamie Norris arrives to keep the ball alive with a wonderful header and Sam Bone bravely bundles it in on the goal-line. Beautiful training ground move! 56' Goal Rijeka Scorer Niko Jankovic GOAL! In front of the hardcore Rijeka support, Niko Jankovic steps up and drills his penalty down the middle of the goal. Wessel Speel dives to his right and can't get near it. Rijeka take the lead. 56' Penalty Rijeka Shooter Niko Jankovic PENALTY! Oh this is cruel for Shels. Sam Bone's pass back to Wessel Speel is fine, but the Netherlands goalkeeper takes too much time to make up his mind and Ndockyt races in to get a touch and milk the penalty in the process. 54' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Tiago Dantas Once a highly rated prospect at Bayern Munich, Tiago Dantas picks out Niko Jankovic. The 23-year-old has a go from range but this time it lacks the accuracy to test Speel. 53' Another superb bit of defending from Paddy Barrett who wins the duel with Ante Juric and gets the pressure-relieving free. Similar to the first-half start, it's been a cagey exchange after the break. 2. Half Second-half underway in Rijeka! A couple of alterations to start this second-half as Mipo Odubeko is replaced by Daniel Kelly. Meanwhile, Rijeka who are no strangers to big changes at the break, have made a double substitution. Ante Majstorovic and Mladen Devetak have made way for Anel Husic and Justas Lasickas. Half-time We have reached half-time in Rijeka! The Spanish arbiter's whistle signals the end of what has been an interesting first-half in Croatia. Nothing to separate the teams at the interval! All in all, Joey O'Brien and Shels will probably be happy with their work so far. They constricted Rijeka's attack until the 23rd-minute when Wessel Speel smothered Amir Gojak's effort. Two further long-range chances fell to Ante Butic and Niko Jankovic, but Shels' 23-year-old shot-stopper was more than equal to both. Shels yet to really trouble the host's goal. The loss of Sean Boyd to injury is the only negative. 45'+3 Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Niko Jankovic SAVE! Arguably Wessel Speel's best of the evening thus far - Niko Jankovic, the Rijeka midfielder who scored 8 goals last season, tries his luck from range. The shot bounces just before Speel who pushes it around the post expertly. 45'+1 A decent chance almost materialises for Shels as John Martin puts the Rijeka rearguard under pressure. He wins the ball back but Odubeko is caught offside. We will have 5 minutes of additional time to play before the break. Largely due to the stoppages for Majstorovic and Boyd. 43' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Simun Butic Butic pops up on the right flank for the first time since switching with his fellow winger Ndockyt. The 19-year-old tears past Ledwidge but blazes his shot high into the night sky. The travelling Shels fans enjoyed that one! 41' Free Kick Shelbourne Shooter Harry Wood Jamie Norris is pulled back by the jersey on the left sideline. Harry Wood crosses deep to JJ Lunney who keeps the attack alive. Wood picks up the ball again and whips it in the direction of Odubeko - Majstorovic shows his experience by clearing the danger. 38' Milan Mbeng wins an important free to relieve some pressure. Interestingly, Rijeka's right winger Merveil Ndockyt has switched wings with Simun Butic in the hope of getting more joy. Mbeng wins the first one-vs-one battle. 33' Behind the goal Shels are shooting into in this first-half, a tifo has been unveiled by the Rijeka fans. Artwork displaying the city's medieval walls are erected with Croatian flags aplenty. Incredible atmosphere. 30' Corner Rijeka Milan Mbeng concedes the first corner of the game and John Martin is back sticking to his defensive duties to clear Shels' lines. Rijeka back in possession around the middle third. 28' Another fine save from Wessel! A cross from the right bounces through to the extreme left of the box. Simun Butic finds space to take a touch, cut in on his right foot and pull the trigger. It had venom - not enough to beat the Shels shot-stopper. 26' A real shame for Shels as John Martin, JJ Lunney and Kerr McInroy link up well around the middle of the park. Play goes wide to the advancing Kameron Ledwidge, but the 24-year-old's touch is loose and the move breaks down. Live Blog Software
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Rijeka v Shelbourne: Joey O'Brien's men holding Croatians scoreless in Europa League
Live | League of Ireland champions Shelbourne face a stern test as they go up against Croatia's Rijeka in the Europa League third qualifying round. Ultan Corcoran brings you all the action with kick-off at 7.45pm. 53' Another superb bit of defending from Paddy Barrett who wins the duel with Ante Juric and gets the pressure-relieving free. Similar to the first-half start, it's been a cagey exchange after the break. 2. Half Second-half underway in Rijeka! A couple of alterations to start this second-half as Mipo Odubeko is replaced by Daniel Kelly. Meanwhile, Rijeka who are no strangers to big changes at the break, have made a double substitution. Ante Majstorovic and Mladen Devetak have made way for Anel Husic and Justas Lasickas. Half-time We have reached half-time in Rijeka! The Spanish arbiter's whistle signals the end of what has been an interesting first-half in Croatia. Nothing to separate the teams at the interval! All in all, Joey O'Brien and Shels will probably be happy with their work so far. They constricted Rijeka's attack until the 23rd-minute when Wessel Speel smothered Amir Gojak's effort. Two further long-range chances fell to Ante Butic and Niko Jankovic, but Shels' 23-year-old shot-stopper was more than equal to both. Shels yet to really trouble the host's goal. The loss of Sean Boyd to injury is the only negative. 45'+3 Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Niko Jankovic SAVE! Arguably Wessel Speel's best of the evening thus far - Niko Jankovic, the Rijeka midfielder who scored 8 goals last season, tries his luck from range. The shot bounces just before Speel who pushes it around the post expertly. 45'+1 A decent chance almost materialises for Shels as John Martin puts the Rijeka rearguard under pressure. He wins the ball back but Odubeko is caught offside. We will have 5 minutes of additional time to play before the break. Largely due to the stoppages for Majstorovic and Boyd. 43' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Simun Butic Butic pops up on the right flank for the first time since switching with his fellow winger Ndockyt. The 19-year-old tears past Ledwidge but blazes his shot high into the night sky. The travelling Shels fans enjoyed that one! 41' Free Kick Shelbourne Shooter Harry Wood Jamie Norris is pulled back by the jersey on the left sideline. Harry Wood crosses deep to JJ Lunney who keeps the attack alive. Wood picks up the ball again and whips it in the direction of Odubeko - Majstorovic shows his experience by clearing the danger. 38' Milan Mbeng wins an important free to relieve some pressure. Interestingly, Rijeka's right winger Merveil Ndockyt has switched wings with Simun Butic in the hope of getting more joy. Mbeng wins the first one-vs-one battle. 33' Behind the goal Shels are shooting into in this first-half, a tifo has been unveiled by the Rijeka fans. Artwork displaying the city's medieval walls are erected with Croatian flags aplenty. Incredible atmosphere. 30' Corner Rijeka Milan Mbeng concedes the first corner of the game and John Martin is back sticking to his defensive duties to clear Shels' lines. Rijeka back in possession around the middle third. 28' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Simun Butic Another fine save from Wessel! A cross from the right bounces through to the extreme left of the box. Simun Butic finds space to take a touch, cut in on his right foot and pull the trigger. It had venom - not enough to beat the Shels shot-stopper. 26' A real shame for Shels as John Martin, JJ Lunney and Kerr McInroy link up well around the middle of the park. Play goes wide to the advancing Kameron Ledwidge, but the 24-year-old's touch is loose and the move breaks down. 23' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Amir Gojak SAVE! Finally we have a shot on target. Ante Orec finds more joy on the right and cuts infield to set up Amir Gojak. The Bosnian midfielder swivels and drills a low shot towards the bottom-left corner. Wessel Speel does well to smother it and hold on. A warning sign! 21' Shels get a decent chance to launch a counterattack but Milan Mbeng puts too much on his pass for Mipo Odubeko. A lot of shadow boxing so far - no real chances to discuss yet! 19' Substitution Shelbourne Substituted out Sean Boyd Substituted in John Martin A real blow for Joey O'Brien as Sean Boyd goes to ground looking for treatment on his calf. He appeared to collide with Majstorovic and pull up just as the 27-year-old chased a loose ball. His night ends prematurely - John Martin takes his place up top. 15' Shels string a few nice passes together before Kameron Ledwidge takes a heavy touch and does just about enough to win the free after a foul from Ante Duric. Rijeka have pressed with intent thus far. Not an inch given. 11' A sloppy pass from Mladen Devetak coughs up possession rather cheaply with a misplaced pass to give Shels some respite from defending. A rather harsh foul is given against Sam Bone who seemed to have a bit of a coming together off the ball. 9' Scoring Chance Rijeka Player Ante Orec Decent ball in from the right flank as full-back Ante Orec whips in a cross, but Paddy Barrett and Sam Bone did enough to shepherd it out of play for a goal-kick. Ante Juric couldn't muscle his way in to get his head on it. 7' Both sides just feeling each other out in these opening exchanges. Rijeka have enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but off the ball it is clear that Shels are playing with a two-man strike force of Odubeko alongside Boyd. 6' Dan McDonnell highlights the rather unusual audio that greeted viewers on SolidSport tonight: Live Blog Software
Daily Record
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Celtic learn Champions League seeding fate as Hoops discover who stands in way of £30m bonanza
Brendan Rodgers' side suffered a bruising Scottish Cup Final defeat but have landed a huge European boost Celtic will be seeded for next season's Champions League playoffs after Dinamo Zagreb were dethroned as the Kings of Croatia. The Hoops face a two-legged qualifier to reach the £30million promised land after Scotland slid down the coefficient table. The four-in-a-row champions have benefited from automatic qualification with the big boys over the last three years. However, as Scotland dropped down to 14th in UEFA rankings, the Scottish Premiership lost its guaranteed spot. Celtic are one of ten teams who will compete via the Champions Path, but due to their coefficient standing, had to rely on other results to secure a seeded space. Dinamo Zagreb (56.000), Bodo/Glimt (49.000), FC Copenhagen (44.875), Red Star Belgrade (44.000) and Ferencváros (39.000) were all above Celts (38.000) in the pecking order. And with the Norwegian, Serbian and Hungarian title-winners all wrapped up, the Parkhead side had to rely on either Dinamo Zagreb or FC Copenhagen finishing runners-up in their respective leagues. Fortunately for the Hoops, Rijeka pipped Zagreb to the Croatian title on Sunday night - despite finishing level on points. A bizarre sorting rule in the Croatian Football League states that first place will be decided by head-to-head record in the final round of fixtures if they are tied on points, taking precedence over the difference in goals scored and conceded between the sides. That meant Rijeka simply had to defeat Slaven Belupo - or better Zagreb's result - to be crowned champions for the first time in eight years. And they did just that, as Niko Jankovic and Toni Fruk scored in each half to secure the title and, in turn, guarantee Brendan Rodgers' troops a seeded position for the Champions League play-off round draw. It means Celtic will now face one of five unseeded teams in the winner-takes-all playoff over two weeks on August 19/20 and 26/27. Swiss side Basel, Austrians Sturm Graz, Romanian giants FCSB, Polish champs Lech Poznan or Rijeka could lie in wait. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp, where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here. Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
