Uefa Conference League 3rd qualifying round, 2nd leg: Shamrock Rovers (0) v Ballkani (1), Tallaght Stadium, 8pm – LOITV (streaming).
Judging the health of Shamrock Rovers ahead of the key second leg of their Uefa Conference League against Kosovo’s Ballkani depends on which way you look at the patient.
The healthy diagnosis sees the Hoops 10 points clear of Bohemians with nine games remaining in the Premier Division as Stephen Bradley’s team aim to overturn a 1-0 defeat from the first leg in Kosovo and enter a playoff to reach the group stages of the competition for a third time in four seasons.
The winner is almost certain to face Santa Clara, as the Portuguese side take a 3-0 advantage over Larne back to the Azores. Progress from the playoff is worth at least €3.17 million.
A more troubled picture came to light on Wednesday morning when Bradley confirmed that Jack Byrne is not injured, yet the Republic of Ireland international has been deregistered from Rovers’ European squad.
RM Block
According to reports, Byrne and Bradley had a training ground dispute over the 29-year-old’s non-selection for the Derry City game on August 3rd.
“One thing you can never question about this group is their character and togetherness,” Bradley told Rovers’ YouTube channel. “You saw that last Thursday, even though we were not at our best, our character got us home with a 1-0 defeat and we are still in the tie.
“We know when the big moments come, [the players] step up. I have no doubt they will step up tomorrow.”
Byrne’s largely unexplained absence for this seismic Conference League qualifier is somewhat offset by Graham Burke’s return to fitness and Connor Malley’s recent arrival from Sligo Rovers.
Even considering Danny Mandroiu’s presence as one of a handful of League of Ireland players who can pick a pass like Byrne, the issue has arisen at the worst possible moment in Rovers’ near flawless season.
After an injury-blighted two years, the midfielder was returning to the level that saw him capped four times by Mick McCarthy in 2019 and Stephen Kenny in 2020, with three goals and eight assists in all competitions.
Besides the Byrne problem, Rovers are having a bounce back campaign since losing their title to Shelbourne last year, with Ballkani and Bohs (twice) the only defeats in their last 29 matches.
Rory Gaffney is up to 10 goals following a brace to see off Derry, with the 35-year-old’s form allowing Michael Noonan more time to prepare for November’s under-17 World Cup in Qatar. Noonan’s debut season has yielded six league goals and a slick finish last February to beat Molde in Norway showed his enormous potential.
“We know what Ballkani are going to bring,” said Bradley. “We knew before the first game. We’ve just got to make sure we perform to the level we know that we can. If we do that everything will look after itself.
“We need a big crowd, we need that energy, the best nights in Tallaght have been European nights. Hopefully this can be another special night.”
Rovers have quietly arrived at this moment in their European journey while Shelbourne and St Patrick’s Athletic hogged the headlines.
The way Joey O’Brien set Shelbourne up against superior outfits in Qarabag and Rijeka is as much a lesson for Rovers as Besiktas ruthlessly exposing St Patrick’s Athletic for starting one holding midfielder last week.
Bradley has a good handle on the tactical challenge, having led Rovers into 56 European nights since 2016.
“It is not about scoring early, it is about playing the game,” he said. “Respect what they are good at, and when the opportunities come you take them. It is not about going all out to score. That’s not what we are about, it is about being patient.
“We have experience throughout the years of different scenarios. We will need that at different moments. We know what we are going into, we know what we have to do to win the game. At times you got to manage the game, that’s where the experience comes into it.”
This Rovers era has been driven by Dylan Watts, Pico Lopes and Gaffney, more than any other players, but without Byrne the necessary moment of inspiration could come from Josh Honohan. The Cork wing back got close to being capped by Heimir Hallgrímsson earlier this summer in Luxembourg, so a big performance should see him retained in the Ireland squad for the World Cup qualifiers.
Rovers to progress, possibly after a penalty shoot-out.
