STEPHEN BRADLEY SAYS he won’t stand in the way of Michael Noonan representing the Republic of Ireland at next month’s U17 World Cup in Qatar.
The Hoops striker scored twice in tonight’s 6-1 win over Kerry to help book their place in the FAI Cup final against Cork City on 9 November.
The Aviva Stadium showpiece also comes just three days after Rovers face AEK Athens in Greece in the Uefa Conference League.
Bradley admitted the club will now speak with the FAI about Noonan’s schedule and the possibility of him skipping the first two World Cup group games against Panama on 5 November and Uzbekistan three days later before travelling for the final fixture with Paraguay on 11 November.
However, Bradley says he will not insist on the 17-year-old joining up late with Colin O’Brien’s squad if the international boss prefers he be involved for the duration of the tournament.
“Michael will go to the World Cup. It’s an incredible opportunity for him. It’ll be a brilliant part of his development. If we can work it out, he plays and then meets up and then we’ll obviously talk to the FAI and that. But if not, for me, he has to go and play and experience that. And do his best for his country. So, yeah, that won’t be an issue.
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Stephen Bradley celebrates at full time. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“We haven’t really had any discussions but now we’ll have them. And if that’s a possibility [for him to miss the first two games], that’s obviously what I would like. But if it’s not, I definitely won’t be standing in Michael’s way of going and representing his country and playing in the World Cup. They don’t come around too often. I would want him to do that.”
While Rovers cruised to a 6-1 win over Kerry, there was a flashpoint in the first half with the score 2-0 when Graham Burke avoided a red card after shoving Joe Adams’ face into the ground after the Kerry midfielder was late with a late tackle.
“The fourth official was saying it was a red card for the tackle. The linesman was similar, so there was never a worry about a sending off,” Bradley said.
“I thought the referee handled it well. I thought a sending off for the tackle would have been harsh. A yellow for each was fair enough, I didn’t see a red for either of them to be honest.”
Kerry boss Colin Healy disagreed, however, and made it clear that referee Paul McLaughlin got the decision wrong. “You can’t put your hands on somebody’s head like that and get away with it. And Stephen Bradley’s reaction probably says it all when he drags Burke away. And it’s big decisions, isn’t it? Then again, you’re probably not going to get that here against Shamrock Rovers, are you?
“I’m not going to say it’s going to change the game because they’ve got so much quality, but it’s a decision that has to be made,” Healy said, joking that Bradley’s assessment of the fourth official about the tackle
“We all know it’s a red card. So it doesn’t matter what Stephen says, or the fourth official. Stephen’s only playing that up. Listen, don’t be listening to that. But I’m telling you, you all have seen the tackle.
“But then again, are you brave enough to make a decision in Tallaght? Absolutely [it is a home decision] But it is. You probably get nothing against the big teams. But you don’t. You don’t. It’s very frustrating, as I said. It will help you, in a way. Am I going to say it’s going to change the game? Hard to say, but it’s a big decision.”
Graham Burke clashes with Joe Adams of Kerry. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Rovers could have been crowned League of Ireland Premier Division champions just before kick off only for Michael Duffy’s 94th minute goal to keep Derry City alive in the title race.
Bradley insisted the outcome of that game in the Ryan McBride Brandywell “wasn’t mentioned, I promise you”, after Cork City’s surprise 3-0 win over St Patrick’s Athletic in the other semi-final on Friday.
“For us, celebrating winning the league when Kerry are ready to beat us? No, we don’t do that. You saw what happened to St Pat’s. You have to be ready for any team who are in front of you.”
The head coach did reveal that winning the double was one of the targets he and the players set out heading into this season, an achievement no Rovers side has managed since 1987.
Bradley came close in 2020 after winning his first league title only to lose the FAI Cup final 4-2 against Dundlak.
“It was one of our goals from day one of pre-season. You could see Thursday, we changed it with this in mind and people probably thought it’s a bit strange. But for me, these don’t come around too often, doubles. It’s something we haven’t done as a group. And it’s something we want to do.
“It’s 38 years. And it’s, like I said, the first day we sat down, it was one of our aims. And now they’ve given us a chance to go and do that. So, it would be incredible.”
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Stephen Bradley won't stand in way of Shamrock Rovers star playing for Ireland at U17 World Cup
STEPHEN BRADLEY SAYS he won’t stand in the way of Michael Noonan representing the Republic of Ireland at next month’s U17 World Cup in Qatar.
The Hoops striker scored twice in tonight’s 6-1 win over Kerry to help book their place in the FAI Cup final against Cork City on 9 November.
The Aviva Stadium showpiece also comes just three days after Rovers face AEK Athens in Greece in the Uefa Conference League.
Bradley admitted the club will now speak with the FAI about Noonan’s schedule and the possibility of him skipping the first two World Cup group games against Panama on 5 November and Uzbekistan three days later before travelling for the final fixture with Paraguay on 11 November.
However, Bradley says he will not insist on the 17-year-old joining up late with Colin O’Brien’s squad if the international boss prefers he be involved for the duration of the tournament.
“Michael will go to the World Cup. It’s an incredible opportunity for him. It’ll be a brilliant part of his development. If we can work it out, he plays and then meets up and then we’ll obviously talk to the FAI and that. But if not, for me, he has to go and play and experience that. And do his best for his country. So, yeah, that won’t be an issue.
“We haven’t really had any discussions but now we’ll have them. And if that’s a possibility [for him to miss the first two games], that’s obviously what I would like. But if it’s not, I definitely won’t be standing in Michael’s way of going and representing his country and playing in the World Cup. They don’t come around too often. I would want him to do that.”
While Rovers cruised to a 6-1 win over Kerry, there was a flashpoint in the first half with the score 2-0 when Graham Burke avoided a red card after shoving Joe Adams’ face into the ground after the Kerry midfielder was late with a late tackle.
“The fourth official was saying it was a red card for the tackle. The linesman was similar, so there was never a worry about a sending off,” Bradley said.
“I thought the referee handled it well. I thought a sending off for the tackle would have been harsh. A yellow for each was fair enough, I didn’t see a red for either of them to be honest.”
Kerry boss Colin Healy disagreed, however, and made it clear that referee Paul McLaughlin got the decision wrong. “You can’t put your hands on somebody’s head like that and get away with it. And Stephen Bradley’s reaction probably says it all when he drags Burke away. And it’s big decisions, isn’t it? Then again, you’re probably not going to get that here against Shamrock Rovers, are you?
“I’m not going to say it’s going to change the game because they’ve got so much quality, but it’s a decision that has to be made,” Healy said, joking that Bradley’s assessment of the fourth official about the tackle
“We all know it’s a red card. So it doesn’t matter what Stephen says, or the fourth official. Stephen’s only playing that up. Listen, don’t be listening to that. But I’m telling you, you all have seen the tackle.
“But then again, are you brave enough to make a decision in Tallaght? Absolutely [it is a home decision] But it is. You probably get nothing against the big teams. But you don’t. You don’t. It’s very frustrating, as I said. It will help you, in a way. Am I going to say it’s going to change the game? Hard to say, but it’s a big decision.”
Rovers could have been crowned League of Ireland Premier Division champions just before kick off only for Michael Duffy’s 94th minute goal to keep Derry City alive in the title race.
Bradley insisted the outcome of that game in the Ryan McBride Brandywell “wasn’t mentioned, I promise you”, after Cork City’s surprise 3-0 win over St Patrick’s Athletic in the other semi-final on Friday.
“For us, celebrating winning the league when Kerry are ready to beat us? No, we don’t do that. You saw what happened to St Pat’s. You have to be ready for any team who are in front of you.”
The head coach did reveal that winning the double was one of the targets he and the players set out heading into this season, an achievement no Rovers side has managed since 1987.
Bradley came close in 2020 after winning his first league title only to lose the FAI Cup final 4-2 against Dundlak.
“It was one of our goals from day one of pre-season. You could see Thursday, we changed it with this in mind and people probably thought it’s a bit strange. But for me, these don’t come around too often, doubles. It’s something we haven’t done as a group. And it’s something we want to do.
“It’s 38 years. And it’s, like I said, the first day we sat down, it was one of our aims. And now they’ve given us a chance to go and do that. So, it would be incredible.”
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