THERE HAS BEEN plenty of regret and no little recrimination for Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne during their Uefa Conference League campaigns, but still there should be reason for optimism for League of Ireland clubs venturing into Europe next year.
Shels and Rovers endured torrid experiences over the last few months and while the fine margins that have determined their fate should not gloss over some basic failings they do speak volumes for just how precarious a tightrope this competition truly is.
On the eve of Rovers’ first league phase game away to Sparta Prague, it just so happened that the circus had arrived directly across the road from the Letna Stadium.
The Hoops also pitched up in the Czech capital and were up front about their ambitions ahead of their third campaign in four seasons.
Captain Roberto Lopes spoke about striving to progress the League of Ireland on the European stage, “because this is where people really take notice of you.”
And he’s right, because the manner in which Rovers responded to going a goal down away to Santa Clara – fourth in Portugal’s top flight last season – during qualifying before regaining control and taking a lead back to Dublin certainly spoke to the theory that this was a group of players building positively on their plentiful European experiences under head coach Stephen Bradley.
The manner of that victory over two legs further enhanced the sense of possibility for Rovers. Lopes was, of course, sitting alongside Bradley in Prague. He was equally steadfast in stating his ambition.
“We’re happy, but we want more, as a football club and as a team, we want to keep pushing, and if we’re sitting in this position in two years’ time, in three years’ time, and we’re still happy being in the Conference League, well then, we’re not doing something right. Our next aim has to be to go and qualify for the Europa League at some point, that has to be our next aim,” the Rovers boss said, 24 hours before he would be lamenting some basic defensive mistakes from set-pieces that played a key part in a 4-1 defeat.
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It set the tone for some sobering nights for the two League of Ireland clubs in action – an historic feat itself as it was the first time more than one reached the group/league phase of European competition together.
This was only at the start of October, but it felt like a very different moment in time to the one we woke up to this morning with Shels and Rovers 34th and 35th respectively in the 36-team league phase.
Neither will progress to the knockout phase play-off round and instead they face two dead rubber games next week just before Christmas.
The easy thing to do now is to mock that level of confidence and ambition that Bradley had no desire to shy away from in Prague, but it’s only such refusal to stand still or be happy with their lot that will ensure progress of any kind.
His Shels counterpart, Joey O’Brien, also continuously spoke of embracing the challenges ahead of them and “having a crack” off each opponent.
It was only against Crystal Palace last night that Shels were blown away and outclassed. Instead, this has been a campaign of constant regret and self-sabotage. How they don’t have a goal, let alone a win, beggars belief.
A 0-0 draw at home to Hacken on the same opening night that Rovers lost in Prague offered some promise, but it was son followed by a self-inflicted defeat away to Shkendija. The Reds missed one golden chance to make the breakthrough and then conceded an own goal from a needless corner in injury time having controlled the entire game in North Macedonia.
After that, despite dominating Kosovan side Drita – even after going down to 10 men inside the first quarter of an hour – Shels conspired to lose 1-0 when a double deflection left them stunned.
Those fixtures were crucial to build up a real head of steam against two opponents who are now well placed to secure a play-off spot due to the momentum they were able to find instead.
There was no lack of preparation, just execution in the key moments. Mistakes and missed chances will linger long in the memory. Mipo Odubeko fluffing an open goal against Drita, James Norris being sent off for a reckless tackle in the same game, and John Martin’s skewed touch after being put through one on one away to AZ Alkmaar on 69 minutes with the score 0-0 spring to mind instantly.
Shels will be back in European action next year but won’t have the benefit of the champions’ path. Rovers have secured it after regaining the Premier Division title and that should give them another solid opportunity to return to this stage.
O’Brien must replicate Bradley’s achievement by qualifying through the general path, something Derry City and Bohemians will also be targeting.
One bigger concern for the Hoops is that they had seemed to be peaking at just the right point ahead of that Prague trip. They were unbeaten in 10 games and effectively wrapped up their fifth Premier Division title in six seasons with a 2-1 win over Bohemians prior to the Conference League getting underway.
Their form tailed off considerably, perhaps understandable at the end of a long season at home with the added toil of European qualifiers. Still, Bradley has been at pains to reinforce the message that his players are used to those demands.
Shels and Rovers will both earn over €4 million each for their European exploits so far and that could increase further depending on the results of their final games away to Celje and at home to Hamrun Spartans, respectively.
A victory for the Hoops against a side two points better off than them would provide an additional €400,000 and, depending on results elsewhere, could even see them finish above the likes of Dynamo Kyiv, Legia Warsaw and Slovan Bratislava. Austrian giants Rapid Vienna are currently bottom of the table having lost all of their games while Aberdeen have accumulated two points.
If Shels can take something from the Celje game it will certainly be an upset given the Slovenian side are currently 12th and could yet earn an automatic place in the round of 16 with a win depending on a string of other results.
So much is still up in the air but for Shels and Rovers a pin has been put in Europe for another year, at least.
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Regret and recrimination yet reason to be optimistic for League of Ireland clubs in Europe
THERE HAS BEEN plenty of regret and no little recrimination for Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne during their Uefa Conference League campaigns, but still there should be reason for optimism for League of Ireland clubs venturing into Europe next year.
Shels and Rovers endured torrid experiences over the last few months and while the fine margins that have determined their fate should not gloss over some basic failings they do speak volumes for just how precarious a tightrope this competition truly is.
On the eve of Rovers’ first league phase game away to Sparta Prague, it just so happened that the circus had arrived directly across the road from the Letna Stadium.
The Hoops also pitched up in the Czech capital and were up front about their ambitions ahead of their third campaign in four seasons.
Captain Roberto Lopes spoke about striving to progress the League of Ireland on the European stage, “because this is where people really take notice of you.”
And he’s right, because the manner in which Rovers responded to going a goal down away to Santa Clara – fourth in Portugal’s top flight last season – during qualifying before regaining control and taking a lead back to Dublin certainly spoke to the theory that this was a group of players building positively on their plentiful European experiences under head coach Stephen Bradley.
The manner of that victory over two legs further enhanced the sense of possibility for Rovers. Lopes was, of course, sitting alongside Bradley in Prague. He was equally steadfast in stating his ambition.
“We’re happy, but we want more, as a football club and as a team, we want to keep pushing, and if we’re sitting in this position in two years’ time, in three years’ time, and we’re still happy being in the Conference League, well then, we’re not doing something right. Our next aim has to be to go and qualify for the Europa League at some point, that has to be our next aim,” the Rovers boss said, 24 hours before he would be lamenting some basic defensive mistakes from set-pieces that played a key part in a 4-1 defeat.
It set the tone for some sobering nights for the two League of Ireland clubs in action – an historic feat itself as it was the first time more than one reached the group/league phase of European competition together.
This was only at the start of October, but it felt like a very different moment in time to the one we woke up to this morning with Shels and Rovers 34th and 35th respectively in the 36-team league phase.
Neither will progress to the knockout phase play-off round and instead they face two dead rubber games next week just before Christmas.
The easy thing to do now is to mock that level of confidence and ambition that Bradley had no desire to shy away from in Prague, but it’s only such refusal to stand still or be happy with their lot that will ensure progress of any kind.
His Shels counterpart, Joey O’Brien, also continuously spoke of embracing the challenges ahead of them and “having a crack” off each opponent.
It was only against Crystal Palace last night that Shels were blown away and outclassed. Instead, this has been a campaign of constant regret and self-sabotage. How they don’t have a goal, let alone a win, beggars belief.
A 0-0 draw at home to Hacken on the same opening night that Rovers lost in Prague offered some promise, but it was son followed by a self-inflicted defeat away to Shkendija. The Reds missed one golden chance to make the breakthrough and then conceded an own goal from a needless corner in injury time having controlled the entire game in North Macedonia.
After that, despite dominating Kosovan side Drita – even after going down to 10 men inside the first quarter of an hour – Shels conspired to lose 1-0 when a double deflection left them stunned.
Those fixtures were crucial to build up a real head of steam against two opponents who are now well placed to secure a play-off spot due to the momentum they were able to find instead.
There was no lack of preparation, just execution in the key moments. Mistakes and missed chances will linger long in the memory. Mipo Odubeko fluffing an open goal against Drita, James Norris being sent off for a reckless tackle in the same game, and John Martin’s skewed touch after being put through one on one away to AZ Alkmaar on 69 minutes with the score 0-0 spring to mind instantly.
Shels will be back in European action next year but won’t have the benefit of the champions’ path. Rovers have secured it after regaining the Premier Division title and that should give them another solid opportunity to return to this stage.
O’Brien must replicate Bradley’s achievement by qualifying through the general path, something Derry City and Bohemians will also be targeting.
One bigger concern for the Hoops is that they had seemed to be peaking at just the right point ahead of that Prague trip. They were unbeaten in 10 games and effectively wrapped up their fifth Premier Division title in six seasons with a 2-1 win over Bohemians prior to the Conference League getting underway.
Their form tailed off considerably, perhaps understandable at the end of a long season at home with the added toil of European qualifiers. Still, Bradley has been at pains to reinforce the message that his players are used to those demands.
Shels and Rovers will both earn over €4 million each for their European exploits so far and that could increase further depending on the results of their final games away to Celje and at home to Hamrun Spartans, respectively.
A victory for the Hoops against a side two points better off than them would provide an additional €400,000 and, depending on results elsewhere, could even see them finish above the likes of Dynamo Kyiv, Legia Warsaw and Slovan Bratislava. Austrian giants Rapid Vienna are currently bottom of the table having lost all of their games while Aberdeen have accumulated two points.
If Shels can take something from the Celje game it will certainly be an upset given the Slovenian side are currently 12th and could yet earn an automatic place in the round of 16 with a win depending on a string of other results.
So much is still up in the air but for Shels and Rovers a pin has been put in Europe for another year, at least.
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