The first half of Chelsea’s thumping win over Shamrock Rovers was not as straightforward as manager Enzo Maresca and his players might have anticipated. Not initially, at any rate.
Despite having the lion’s share of possession, the home side were almost caught out on the counter-attack when Johnny Kenny twice went close to netting for a fifth consecutive Conference League match.
Markus Poom’s equaliser after Marc Guiu’s opener was a jolt for the hosts, but there was no looking back once the Spanish youngster capitalised on another error in the Rovers defence to restore Chelsea’s advantage.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all but ended the game as a contest, before Guiu completed his hat-trick with a well-taken header – his sixth European goal of the campaign. Marc Cucurella then rounded off the scoring in the second half as the Blues ended their flawless league phase campaign with another thumping victory.
Guiu is the latest Chelsea youngster to impress in the Conference League this term but with no European football for the Blues until March, the teenager will be hopeful of showing Maresca he can carry his European form into the Premier League.
