Everton claim narrow Europa lead

A deflected effort from Leighton Baines gave Everton a slender 1-0 advantage from their Europa League third qualifying round first leg at Goodison Park.

With Wayne Rooney making his second debut for the Toffees following his summer move from Manchester United and with manager Ronald Koeman having made a big splash in the transfer market, expectations were high for the game but the hosts turned in a display which was ponderous at times, with a lack of cutting edge in the final third.

Rooney began in an advanced forward role but endured a quiet first period before livening up a little after the break when he dropped into a deeper position.

The home side dominated possession without creating much - perfectly normal from a side this early into their pre-season build-up - and the match looked like it might be heading for stalemate before Baines' intervention on 65 minutes.

Earlier, Everton were reliant on goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg keeping it scoreless at the other end when he did superbly to tip Jan Maslo's powerful close-range header onto the crossbar.

The former Ajax goalkeeper made another couple of smart stops and will be hoping he can stake a serious claim to the starting goalkeeping role until £30m summer signing Jordan Pickford is ready for action.

Fellow new recruit, Sandro showed signs of promise after coming on as a second-half substitute and he may well have earned a penalty if he went down under a late challenge, instead keeping his balance after being impeded in the penalty box.

Fellow debutant Michael Keane was a plus on the night, turning in an impressive display.

In truth, a two-goal margin of victory would have been harsh on the Slovakian side and they will now have some hope of progressing to the play-off round when they host the return leg in Ruzomberok next Thursday.

Koeman and his side meanwhile, will be expecting a more fluent performance and hoping for a straightforward night in the return match.

The Airtricity Premier Division Dublin derby between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians at Tallaght Stadium on Friday, 28 July is live on eir sport 2 in Ireland [kick off 8.00pm]

Photo: Getty/Paul Ellis

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