Paul Fennessy reports from Tallaght Stadium

IT TAKES A special Irish footballer to score 15 times in European club competitions.

Before last night, Roy Keane and Robbie Keane were the only players to reach that number.

Now, Graham Burke has joined that prestigious list, and few would bet against him surpassing the Man United and Spurs legends.

The goal itself was worthy of the achievement.

Burke, who also became the all-time leading League of Ireland goalscorer in Europe, weaved away from two Floriana defenders before finishing brilliantly.

It admittedly came on one of the less glamorous European nights, with 5,466 fans turning out rather than staying at home to watch the World Cup semi-final between France and Spain.

And while Burke and co will face better opponents than Floriana this season, it was a goal Rovers badly needed and fully deserved, owing to a period of relentless pressure on the opposition goal.

At times before then, it looked it might not be the Irish side’s night. After losing the first leg 2-0 in Malta, Tomislav Gudelj had cancelled out Lee Grace’s opener, finishing a clinical counter-attacking move on one of the rare occasions the Hoops’ defence was badly exposed.

But Burke’s moment of magic in the 61st minute put Rovers ahead for the first time in the tie and paved the way for a memorable win – it was both the first time a League of Ireland side had scored five goals in a Champions League/European Cup tie and the only instance of a Premier Division team recovering from a two-goal first-leg deficit.

“[The players have] set the standards for what we should accept and what we should look to reach in Irish football, domestically and in Europe; they continue to do that. I’m delighted for them that they’ve hit all those records,” Hoops boss Stephen Bradley said afterwards.

In addition to Burke, Jack Byrne was similarly impressive with his defence-splitting passes and equally spectacular second-half goal, while Roberto Lopes, fresh from his World Cup adventure with Cape Verde, earned plaudits: “Even in the dressing room beforehand, he brought a real calmness to it. His voice is so important for us.”

But special praise was reserved for the 32-year-old attacker now in his 10th season representing Rovers, who is regarded as more of a flair player, a number 10, rather than an out-and-out striker.

Still, there is a sense that, for all he has achieved with Rovers, Burke remains one of Irish football’s most underrated talents.

He was capped three times by Ireland in 2018 and, after failing to make the first-team breakthrough as a youngster at Aston Villa, had fleeting stints in England with Shrewsbury Town, Notts County, Preston North End and Gillingham.

But there is no doubt his best moments have come with the Tallaght side, as he has been pivotal to five league title wins, two FAI Cup wins and several memorable European occasions, including last night.

“We appreciate him, but I don’t think he’ll be fully understood for what he’s done for the type of player he is,” Bradley said. “We’ve had the Glen Crowes, Jason Byrnes, Twiggies [Gary Twigg]. You can go back through the years of top strikers that have played in the league, but they were out-and-out strikers, and Graham is anything but that.

“So to have the record, even Davey McMillan [whose record Burke broke], Dundalk, I played with Davey, and he was brilliant in the box, so good with his head, clever player, but he was that type of player whereas Graham is the opposite.

“So to have the record, being that type of player, is really special. I don’t think it could be done again from that type of player.”

Bradley continued: “You go back through the years of the league, [Joseph] N’Do, Paddy McCourts, Michael Duffy, I mean that type, that dribbler can commit people and Graham can do that.

“He’s so dangerous because people show him onto his right, but he’s just as good off his right shooting. Then he can feint; he’s quicker with the ball than without the ball. He’s a really interesting player to have that status for that type. It’s incredible. We’re blessed to work with him because he allows us to be a certain type of team, which is huge. And usually the bigger the game, the better he is.”