Rovers in Europa League action
SHAMROCK Rovers return to European club action on Thursday when they play Celje of Slovenia in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, reports Stephen Farrell.
In the Champions League the SSE Airtricity Premier Division Champions bowed out in the second qualifying round against Sparta Praha (Prague) last month.
The Tallaght outfit exited Europe’s premier club competition on an aggregate score of 6-2 having put up a good display in the return leg which ended up 4-2 to Sparta with Kilnamanagh’s Aaron Greene impressing scoring Rovers’ two goals.
In the previous round ‘the Hoops’ overcame Víkingur Reykjavik with a 2-1 victory in the second leg in Tallaght stadium last month having come away from the Icelandic capital with a nil-nil draw in the first leg.
Rovers’ form of late has been good including a good away win to Waterford last Friday in the League of Ireland on a scoreline of 2-1.
After dominating the opening period of the first half Rovers opened the scoring at a sold-out Waterford Regional Sports Centre after eight minutes through Cory O’Sullivan.
On the changeover Waterford upped the ante with good opportunities being presented to Christie Pattisson and Pádraig Almond who were unable to convert.
Eventually that pressure paid dividends in the 51st minute with Pattisson succeeding in heading over Leon Pohls.
The game then developed into a ding-dong battle with both sides producing good chances.
However, it fell to Graham Burke in the 84th minute to score what turned out to be the crucial winner for ‘the Hoops’.
This was a crucial game as the victory means that Stephen Bradley’s charges now sit in third place on 37 points having played 24 matches, with Waterford also on the same number of points having played two games more than Rovers.
Thursday’s Europa League qualifier is available to stream live on SolidSport, with kick off set for 7.15pm and stream passes are available for €10 according to Rover’s facebook page.
The defeated side in this tie will play the winners of FC Ordabasy / FC Pyunik in the Conference League Play-Off Round.
Should Rovers progress through the third qualifying round, they will play the defeated side in the tie between Malmö FF / PAOK FC in the Europa League Play-Off Round.
Rovers will certainly be hoping to put in a good performance on Thursday at the Z’dežele Stadium in Celje as teams that participate in the league phase of the Europa League stand to gain €4.31 million each.
Together the 2024/25 Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, plus the 2024 Super Cup, will generate a gross revenue of €4.4bn, according to UEFA.