Graham Burke secures the fourth and final goal of the day.
Rovers hammer Ballkani to reach play-off for UEFA Conference League
Shamrock Rovers have defeated Ballkani by a staggering 4-0 scoreline after Thursday night’s fixture in Tallaght.
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 about starman Rory Gaffney, Bradley said.
“When he’s like that he’s unplayable, you have all seen him. He’s 6ft 1, 6ft 2, can run, loves a fight, can go both sides, can finish. When he’s in that form defenders don’t know what to do with him.”
Speaking on upcoming opposition 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”.
The big win ensures Shamrock Rovers place in the playoff round of the competition and a tidy sum of money for their efforts so far. Their play off takes place next week where they travel to the Azores to take on Portuguese side Santa Clara.
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.
