Rovers progress to Conference League play-offs with commanding win in Albania
Daire Walsh
Rory Gaffney struck a brace of goals at the Elbasan Arena this evening to give Shamrock Rovers a 2-0 victory against KF Teuta Durrës of Albania in a UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round second leg tie.
This result – coupled with their hard-earned 1-0 success over the same opposition in Tallaght last week – comfortably secured a 3-0 aggregate triumph for Stephen Bradley’s side. They will now face Estonia’s Flora in the play-off phase of this inaugural competition, with the first leg set to take place in Tallinn next Thursday.
A return fixture will then follow at the Tallaght Stadium on August 26 as Rovers aim to reach the group stages of a European competition for the second time in their history.
Teuta proved themselves to be tricky opponents in the first leg with the Hoops requiring a last-minute winner from 17-year-old Aidomo Emakhu to claim the spoils on the night. Yet not only did this give Rovers a scoreline advantage, it also ensured the morale within the camp was sky high for their latest abroad.
Latching onto possession at a left-hand angle, Gaffney unleashed a delicate chip over the stranded Stivi Frashëri to bag his maiden European goal in the 20th-minute.
Danny Mandroiu was also close to finding the net in the opening half, but Rovers were more than content with a 1-0 cushion (and a 2-0 buffer overall) heading into the interval. There was a sense that another goal could finish off the challenge of Teuta and it duly arrived for the Hoops just past the hour mark.
Capitalising on excellent build-play by Liam Scales, Gaffney unleashed a powerful drive beyond the reach of Frashëri.
Rovers expertly closed out the game in the remaining minutes with Sean Hoare, Chris McCann, Sean Gannon, Aaron Greene and Graham Burke all doing their bit from the bench.
Before re-embarking on their European journey, Rovers will seek to maintain their stranglehold on the Premier Division top spot when they travel to Drogheda United this Sunday.