Soccer
Rovers aim to bounce back after CL exit
By Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING their agonising exit from the UEFA Champions League qualifiers on Tuesday, Shamrock Rovers will make a swift return to domestic action with an away trip to Derry City in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division tomorrow night (kick-off 7.45pm).
While Irish clubs have often suffered European hangovers in the past, the excellent performance delivered by Stephen Bradley’s charges in Tallaght earlier this week should ensure a smooth transition back to league duty.
Rank outsiders to progress after losing out 2-0 in their first qualifying round opening leg meeting with Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava last Wednesday week, the Hoops dramatically cancelled out this aggregate deficit courtesy of goals in either half from Graham Burke and Richie Towell.
This placed them on the brink of advancing to face Young Boys of Switzerland in the second qualifying round, but Vladimír Weiss struck the decisive goal on 72 minutes to get Slovan out of jail.
Although it may be of little consolation to the Rovers players, this was just their second triumph in a UEFA Champions League game – the first coming against Estonia’s Flora Tallinn almost exactly 10 years ago (12 July 2011).
Burke maintained his excellent record from the penalty spot on Tuesday, while Towell opened his Rovers account in spectacular fashion.
Picked out by former Salford City team-mate Rory Gaffney, the Inchicore native superbly found the top left-hand corner with an unstoppable strike on the edge of the box.
He will now look to add to the 43 Premier Division goals he accumulated during his trophy-laden three-season stint at Dundalk.
The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium would be the ideal setting for him to bag his first league goal for the Hoops as they look to hold off the growing challenges of Sligo Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic.
As it stands, the champions marginally lead the table on score difference, with the same number of games played as Sligo (19) and one less than St Pat’s.
With both of their title rivals also taking to the field this weekend, Rovers know they can ill-afford to drop any points against the Candystripes.
Having earned a 2-0 win in the Brandywell on April 13, the Hoops had to settle for a share of the spoils in Tallaght a month later.
The recent arrival of Towell has added star quality to an already impressive squad, however, and Bradley will hope he can inspire them to an improved result on this occasion.