Conference League playoff, first leg: Santa Clara (Portugal) 1 (Lopes 20) Shamrock Rovers 2 (Grant 43, Mandroiu 66)
A first goal in Europe for Danny Grant and another skilfully taken strike from the influential Danny Mandroiu leaves Shamrock Rovers some 90 minutes away from back-to-back qualifications for the league phase of the Conference League after a controlled and tactically astute performance in the Azores.
Stephen Bradley’s side had to come from behind as they more than matched Santa Clara, who finished fifth in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season, in the 24-degree heat of the Estadio Sao Miguel in Ponta Delgada.
Tallaght Stadium is now set for another rousing night when Rovers will hope to make the league phase in Europe for a third time in four years with next Thursday’s second leg.
In doing so they would also become the first Irish side to reach that juncture from outside the champions path.
RM Block
The prize is six matches in the 36-team league phase and its guaranteed minimum €3.95 million prize fund. Rovers grossed €7.2 million from their run to the knockout round playoffs last February, losing on penalties to Norwegian side Molde.
Santa Clara started six of the 17 Brazilians in their squad, including their lightning quick number 10, Gabriel Silva, who scored twice in the defeat of Irish League side Larne in the previous round.
Rovers made one change from last week’s 4-0 win over Kosovars FC Ballkani, Darragh Nugent coming into central midfield for the injured Connor Malley.
Far from overawed by the conditions and their opponents, Rovers showed they could stretch Santa Clara with the pace of Grant on the right and bustling centre-forward play of in-form Rory Gaffney.
But just as Rovers looked to have settled well into the game, Santa Clara took the lead on 20 minutes.
Having bravely blocked a drive from Mandroiu, Sidney Lima used the full width of the big pitch to pick out Paulo Victor hogging the touchline with a cross-field ball.
Silva was found from the pullback to bring a terrific one-handed save by Ed McGinty. It proved to no avail, though, as the ball dropped for Vinicius Lopes to head to the net. A short VAR check confirmed the goal.
Unbowed and enjoying the upper hand in possession, Rovers passed the ball with ever more confidence as the half progressed. Mandroiu worried skipper Gabriel Batista between the Santa Clara posts when drilling a shot not far wide before the Hoops were deservedly level two minutes before the break.
The speed of thought and touch of Mandroiu played an integral part with a clever return pass for the run of Grant. The winger skipped into the area to beat Batista with the help of a slight deflection off Rocha.
Rovers survived a nervous moment four minutes into the second period when Rocha poked the ball home from a Silva free kick before a VAR check confirmed he was offside.
Another VAR check for offside denied Rovers the lead at the other end on 57 minutes when Gaffney turned home from underneath the crossbar after skipper Roberto Lopes, on his milestone 50th appearance in Europe, having headed Dylan Watts’ free kick back across goal.
But there was no need for any check for what proved Rovers’ winner on the night when it arrived on 66 minutes.
Another Watts delivery from a free kick was headed into space in the area by the tenacious Josh Honohan.
Mandroiu read it perfectly, taking a delightful first touch to burst between two defenders and confidently side-foot past Batista to the corner of the net.
SANTA CLARA: Batista; Lima, Rocha, Nunes; Cabral (Pires, 62), Adriano, Serginho (Ferreira, 73), Paulo Victor (Pereira, 85); Lopes (Manoel, 73), Costa (Wendel Silva, 62), Gabriel Silva.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: McGinty; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Grant, Watts (McEneff, 89), Healy, Nugent (Barrett, 90+4), Honohan, Mandroiu (Burke, 73); Gaffney (Noonan, 73).
Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria)
