

‘Anything is possible’ as Rovers travel to Portugal
SHAMROCK Rovers have defeated Ballkani by a staggering 4-0 scoreline after last Thursday night’s fixture in Tallaght, reports Michael Howley.
After a tight 1-0 defeat in Kosovo the pressure was on Rovers to perform in front of their home fans against stellar opposition if they had any chance to progress to the next round.
A crowd of 6,419 packed into Tallaght stadium but despite the impressive atmosphere, the game initially looked like it was going to be a fairly drab affair with little to speak of in the first 30 minutes of the game.
Rovers came somewhat close in the first five minutes after a deflected shot almost found its way past the Ballkani goalkeeper but Ballkani responded in kind at the other end of the pitch with a snapshot in the box that clipped the post.
That was the only half chance that Ballkani would avail of however and as the half progressed Rovers were the team that were obviously coming into the game. This culminated in what appeared to be the first goal of the evening as Rory Gaffney slotted a shot through the legs of the Ballkani keeper before VAR deemed him to have been offside.
Not one to be discouraged however Gaffney would find his name on the scoresheet for real shortly after as he poked in an effort just minutes before the halftime interval. He would manage his second just after the resumption of the game, coolly back heeling the ball into an open goal after Ballkani’s defence were caught lacking.
From here it would just go from bad to worse for the side from Kosovo as they totally capitulated. Sloppy defending on a corner kick saw Josh Honohan lob the keeper from the edge of the area after failing to adequately clear the ball and Graham Burke pounced on very sloppy defending shortly after to secure the fourth and final goal of the day.
Rovers boss Stephen Bradley commented after the game. “I said before the game we would have to be levels above last week, I knew we could be and the space was there and the players felt that, when you talk about a European performance at home it was really up there with high level stuff with everything we did.”
Speaking of upcoming opposition Portuguese side Santa Clara, Bradley noted their toughness. “17 Brazilians in the squad, they are a proper team. I’ve seen the goals, look really athletic and quick. All the goals are in transition. First leg away, take it back here and anything is possible”.
With nine changes made from the match against Ballkani to the FAI Cup match against Longford on Sunday Bradley commented on the art of rotation in such a busy run of fixtures.
“It’s important when you have the squad that we have, when it’s in a good place and everyone wants to play, that we use it, particularly with the heavy fixture load. It was used on Sunday, then we have another Thursday/Sunday coming up.
“So I’m sure it will be used again. It’s important everyone remains ready to play as we’ll need everyone.”
Santa Clara have looked promising in their European campaign so far but have lost their opening two matches in the Portuguese domestic league, Bradley touched on reading into their form.
“You have to look at both the European and the domestic games, to see what differences there are in those games, why they’ve won certain games and lost others. It’s fine margins.
“You look at their league game on Sunday and Santa Clara had chances to win the game. But their style doesn’t change, they have a very clear way and identity of playing. At the top end of the pitch, they have speed and are good. So whichever way you look at it, it’s a tough game.”
Only one player has been ruled out with injury from the squad headed to the Azores to play this Thursday, Bradley revealed.
“Connor Malley hurt his knee against Ballkani, when he set up Rory Gaffney for the second goal. It’s a strange one, he kicked the ground when he passed the ball, so that will put him out for a couple of weeks. It’s a pity as Connor was really getting up to speed, so he’s gutted. Everyone else is available for Santa Clara.”
Last week’s big win over Ballkani has ensured Shamrock Rovers place in the playoff round of the competition and a tidy sum of money for their efforts so far. As according to UEFA, teams participating in the Conference League Qualifying stage will receive €175,000 for every round participated in.
Rovers received a bye for the first round so for the second round against St Josephs and the third round yesterday evening against Ballkani Rovers will have received a total of €350,000 for their participation.
This upcoming playoff round raises the cash even higher again, another €175,000 is awarded simply for participating in the match. The winner of the game is guaranteed a place in the Conference League group stage where every team will receive €3.17m with further result dependent match bonuses to be received after each fixture.
Even the loser of the playoff round will receive an elimination bonus of €750,000 alongside the €175,000 match participation money. This means that even in a worst case scenario where Rovers fail to progress to the Conference League group stage they will have made a total of €1,275,000.
Certainly not a bad return being a figure 10x more than the €125,000 that the Premier Division champions will receive this year for winning the domestic league.