Perhaps as expected, Rapid started quickly, as captain Matthias Seidl struck the post from distance, before Mamadou Sangaré curled onto the bar from the edge of the area inside the opening eight minutes.
It was not long before the hosts eventually found the breakthrough, as Nenad Cvetković opened his Rapid account with a lovely volley on the swivel after falling to him from a corner.
The Green-Whites continued to probe as Dion Beljo struck just wide on the turn, while Bendegúz Bolla and Guido Burgstaller went close with efforts just before HT, as the latter saw his effort smothered by Leon Pöhls from close range.
Shamrock offered little threat in truth, with Johnny Kenny perhaps their most dangerous player.
Rapid were given a penalty just five minutes into the second half after Gary O’Neill allegedly handled in the box, but a VAR replay showed it actually hit his chest and so the decision was overturned.
Their bad luck got worse when Shamrock found an equaliser against the run of play just a few minutes later, as Kenny tapped home his 18th goal this year by meeting Josh Honohan’s cross ahead of his marker.
Before the hour-mark, Rapid hit the woodwork for the third time, as Beljo’s header struck the bar after meeting a corner. Sangaré also tried his luck from distance again, but the ball landed onto the roof of the net.
Shamrock resisted more Rapid pressure and almost won it in the latter stages, as Kenny’s speculative strike bobbled off Niklas Hedl’s gloves and just wide.
The goalkeeper then had to stick a leg out to deny Kenny again, after a fast break from the attacker.
Nonetheless, Rapid will still feel underwhelmed with just a point at home given their overall dominance, even though they now stretch their unbeaten record in all competitions to five games (W2, D3), and also against Irish teams (W4, D1).
Shamrock themselves are now unbeaten in eight competitive outings (W6, D2), and will be pleased to return to Ireland with a point.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Johnny Kenny (Shamrock Rovers)
