Shamrock Rovers keep their cool in Iceland to claim a clean sheet in Champions League clash

But Shamrock Rovers will feel that if they can add an attacking edge to the defensive nous they showed in the away leg of their Champions League tie with Vikingur, they stand a decent chance of advancing to a meeting with Sparta Prague.

In a tense 0-0 draw in Reykjavik, Rovers had to withstand long spells of pressure – 17 corners for Vikingur against two for the Hoops – and were twice saved by the woodwork.

They also had to see out the game with 10 men after Darragh Nugent was sent off late on.

The Dublin club failed to hit the target. While there were two efforts from sub Johnny Kenny, they both were off target. But at least it hinted that the Icelandic champions were beatable.

Rovers had kept a clean sheet in just one of their previous nine away games in Europe, so the goalless draw will be welcome ahead of the home leg in Tallaght next Tuesday.

​If absent players such as Graham Burke can be added to the mix, Rovers will be well placed to build on the draw and advance.

The early moments hinted at this being a good night for the Hoops, as it was Stephen Bradley’s side who came up with the first move of the match.

Josh Honohan broke free down the right and forced Karl Gunnarsson to concede a corner. From that flag kick, the ball came to Dylan Watts, who whipped in a cross. Roberto Lopes managed to get his head to it, but the chance was off target.

That early opportunity seemed to jolt Vikingur into action and had their best chance of the half on 10 minutes when they struck the post twice.

First, Leon Pohls pushed Erlingur Agnarsson’s shot onto the post. From the follow up, Jon Fjoluson also struck the woodwork.

Vikingur continued to enjoy long spells of possession and there was a moment of concern for Rovers when their most dangerous player, Iceland international Danijel Djuric, got into a good position on the edge of the box, but the quality of his effort did not match his talent as he fired wide.

Rovers had done well to absorb that spell of pressure and were content to let Vikingur have the ball, aware that the home side were not coming up with the penetrating passes needed to open them up.

The Icelandic team had an appeal for a penalty on 33 minutes rejected after Danish import Nikolaj Hansen went down in the box, with the Norwegian referee ignoring their pleas.

The Rovers staff would have identified Djuric as Vikingur’s main threat, but he was having a quiet night, largely due to the attention of Honohan.

For long spells, their ploy seemed to be to play the ball out to their right-back and hope for a cross to land in the box for their bulky Danish striker, but that wasn’t really working for them.

Vikingur carried on the second half in the same vein as the first, lots of possession and an endless supply of corner kicks but without conviction.

It seemed as if the Rovers coaching staff had done their homework to prep their players for what Vikingur had to offer from those flag kicks.

But Jon Fjoluson should have done better when he got his head to a corner five minutes into the second half than to send it wide.

On 73 minutes, Vikingur posed a threat with their 13th corner of the game. The impressive Pablo Punyed was in a good position, but his lapse of concentration gifted possession to Rovers. The ball was played out to Kenny and he bore down on goal. While his effort was wide, it still showed signs of a threat from the away side.

Rovers were holding their own and looked to be in a good place to see out the game, but they suffered a blow 10 minutes from time when Nugent was booked for a relatively harmless foul. As it was his second offence of the evening, he was sent off. But Rovers held on well with the 10 men.

VIKINGUR: I Jonsson; Gunnarsson, Vatnhamar, Ekroth, Fjoluson; Angarsson, Punyed (Andrasson 81), Gudjonsson (Sigurpalsson 65), Ingimudarson; Hansen (Vilhjalmsson 65), Djuric.

SHAMROCK ROVERS: Pohls; Honohan, Lopes, Cleary; Hoare, O’Neill, Watts (Towell 92), Clarke (Farrugia 73); Nugent, Byrne (Burns 73); Greene (Kenny 65). REF: S Kringstad (Norway)