THAT EUROPEAN GROUP stage football is something different becomes instantly apparent if you walk into the Tallaght Stadium suite repurposed for media obligations. The vast room is now bisected by ceiling-high black curtains, separating a media working area from a press conference stage.
Stephen Bradley usually does his media interviews standing with journalists huddled around him, but yesterday he did it from a newly-erected platform backdropped by the logos of Uefa’s many sponsors, his voice booming over a newly-installed PA system.
“The little circus that goes with it”, said Bradley with a wry smile about the changes. “It’s nice.”
Nice partly because it reflects fulfilled ambitions, as Rovers’ pre-season target was to qualify for the Europa Conference League group phase. This is the second staging of the third-tier competition and the first time it has been graced by an Irish side, with Rovers (2011) and Dundalk (2016 and 2020) playing in the groups of the Europa League. None of the three qualified for the knockout stages, Stephen Kenny’s Dundalk going closest in 2016.
Rovers are aiming to make history in that respect this year. Their challenges lack some glamour but are daunting nonetheless, drawn against Gent of Belgium, Molde of Norway and Djurgardens of Sweden, whom they face at Tallaght tonight. Rovers are third seeds and Djurgardens fourth, but Bradley rated the Swedish side as favourites for tonight’s game. He also classed second seeds Molde as group favourites.
Djurgardens are here having battled through three rounds in Europe, beating Apoel – Jack Byrne’s old side – in the final qualifying round. When asked to contrast them, Djurgardens midfielder Magnus Eriksson said that Apoel had better individuals, but that Rovers were the better unit. Joint manager Thomas Lagerlöf was more circumspect on Rovers, refusing to commit to stating whether he sees his side hogging the ball or playing on the counter-attack. “A bit of both”, he said, “we will see what Rovers allow us to do.”
He described this group as having four sides of approximate level, all of which are winnable if his side performs. Bradley isn’t tempering ambition, either.
“We believe we can win games in this group. Is it going to be difficult? Yeah. Is it against good teams, big clubs? Yeah. But at the end of the day, it is 11 men against 11 men on the pitch and we believe we can win games in this group.”
For that they will have to vastly improve from last week’s league showing against Bohemians, a performance Bradley bluntly described as not having seen from his players in months. His squad is getting stronger by the week, with Graham Burke and new signing Simon Power back to fitness and Roberto Lopes 10 days away from a return after a lengthy lay-off with a knee injury.
Rovers should also be strengthened by their home record, which is outstanding. They have won all of their European home games this season, with the wins against Hibernians and Shkupi proof of easy superiority against tame opponents and the victories against Ludogorets and Ferencvaros glimpses of something potentially special.
Djurgardens may be of a similar rank to the latter pair. They are second in the Swedish league, a point from the top with nine games to go, while their third-placed finish last year is slightly misleading given they were two points from champions Malmo.
Bradley name-checked a few of their threats, including midfielder Eriksson. He also warned of the counter-attacking qualities of left-winger Gustav Wikheim, who scored in a Europa League tie for Midtjylland against Derry City back in 2017. Their full-backs are very attack-minded, particularly right-back Piotr Johansson, while striker Victor Edvardsen will carry the greatest goal threat.
Bradley was clear that this group stage is about competition and potential glory: asked whether the prize money on offer is a motivation, he replied, “No, it’s not of interest to us. It’s about making sure we perform first of all. If we perform, let’s see can that bring the result. That’s all we focus on.”
Financially, this is another world. A win for Rovers tonight would bank €500,000, and they’d need to win five league titles to outstrip that in prize money domestically.
Both managers have cast this is a relatively egalitarian group, and tonight Rovers can prove they belong at this level.
Shamrock Rovers (Possible XI): Alan Mannus; Sean Hoare, Daniel Cleary, Lee Grace; Ronan Finn; Gary O’Neill, Chris McCann; Andy Lyons; Jack Byrne, Dylan Watts; Rory Gaffney
Djurgardens (Possible XI): Jacob Widell Zetterström; Piotr Johansson, Marcus Danielson, Hjalmar Ekdal, Elias Andersson; Rasmus Schuller, Hampus Findell, Magnus Eriksson; Haris Radetinac, Victor Edvardsen, Gustav Wikheim
ON TV: Virgin Media Three, BT Sport 4; KO 8pm
