AS THE PLANE sits on the tarmac at Molde Airport and 200 or so Shamrock Rovers fans wait to return home, some red eyes wince in different directions.
To the left is the water of the fjord. Enticing and still, it glimmers beneath the sun and beautiful snow-capped mountains.
“It’s like Blessington,” one says.
“Would you stop. You can’t compare that to Blessington,” his pal beside him replies. “Yeah, look, there’s bleedin’ Johnny Fox’s.”
To the right are a mix of wooden cabins and modern, slick homes nestled in the hills, pristine and imposing pine trees towering above with as much authority as Roberto Lopes.
Most heads on the plane are bowed. But not beaten.
Phones are out and the Rovers fans remain transfixed by the achievement of their team. A 1-0 win in the away leg of their Uefa Conference League tie last night means some heads have dropped to catch up on sleep after celebrations continued long into the bitingly cold night.
Plenty more scroll through their various social media feeds. One opens a video of Michael Noonan’s goal.
He replays it five times and then checks the comments underneath before watching it again.
Another post has been doing the rounds. Noonan’s mother has put up a picture of her son with his schoolbag on his back heading to his first class of the morning.
At 16 years and 187 days old, he is the youngest scorer in Rovers’ European history.
He is the youngest scorer in the Uefa Conference League since the competition began in 2021.
While Nii Lamptey was 16 years, two months and 18 days old when he found the net in the old Uefa Cup back in 1991, Noonan is the youngest scorer in European club football in the modern era of expanded group and league phase football, and the additional knockout ties that come with it.
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But that doesn’t mean he gets to skip double maths on a Friday morning.
It’s hard to comprehend, as one veteran Rovers fan summed up succinctly. “I’m in a state of disbelief about what they’ve done.”
The job isn’t finished and so long as they avoid defeat in Tallaght Stadium next week, Rovers’ historic European campaign will continue against either Cercle Brugge or Legia Warsaw in the last 16.
That Rovers fan clicks back onto the video of Noonan’s goal again. He keeps on watching as the plane takes off and rises into the sky.
It’s the highlight of what turned out to be a truly historic trip, and The 42 was there for 24 hours with them.
***
The red and black rucksack that one Rovers fan has for his essentials is an easy, and obvious, target.
“Sorry, no Bohs allowed,” someone says in the queue for the charter flight.
“I won’t be bringing it with me to the Aviva on Sunday, that’s for sure,” he replies.
The travelling faithful have every reason to savour such an epic week.
Not only is the new League of Ireland season returning, but this layover in Molde comes just 72 hours before they open their campaign against their great Dublin rivals in front of what’s shaping up to be a record 30,000-plus crowd in Dublin 4.
The first sign that this might be Rovers’ night is visible on approach to the airport. The terminal is lit up in green and white.
Molde from the sky, and the stadium in the foreground.
The second comes passing through security when “Build Me Up Buttercup”, the unofficial club anthem, booms through the building’s speakers.
The smell of destiny – and Joop from duty free – is in the air.
From 8am onwards, fans begin to form groups inside and outside the Gate Clock Bar. Pockets of different conversations take place, some friends catching up for the first time since last season finished, picking up where they left off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
One pulls out his laptop just as the clock strikes 9am. He signs into his work system and scrolls through emails in an impressive dedication to remote working.
He’s earned the pint of Guinness that’s placed in front of him by his pal.
As the plane begins to fill, two women start to throw out some cereal bars to lads in the rows around them. They’ve already been on stronger stuff for their brekkie.
For some, anticipation is matched by relief at not missing out, one fan explaining how he got the green light from his fiancé to book on for the trip after sacrificing the away days during the league phase as they save for the wedding. A Valentine’s present, of sorts.
The gesture from the club to pay for all match tickets in Molde is welcome and appreciated.
The songs begin about 45 minutes into the two-hour flight. A live rendition of “Build Me Up Buttercup” is first.
Sunday is on their mind too.
“Oh what a night, watching Rovers on Thursday nights, Bohs play friendlies cause they’re f***ing shite, what a feeling, what a night.”
***
Molde is a quaint, serene town of 31,967 people – there will likely be more in the Aviva on Sunday.
The soft whizz of electric cars is only partially disturbed by the crackle, crackle, crackle of gritted roads and snow tyres.
Their Aker Stadium is beautiful and the ferry that taxis people to and from neighbouring islands on the adjacent fjord complements the scenery.
Almost all the shop windows have the blue and white flags of their football team hanging outside, with scarfs draped across displays from children’s books to boutique clothing stores.
And even here, in what is effectively a winding, one-road town, O’Leary’s Irish Bar on the corner is a hub for home and away fans alike, where the cheapest pint is just shy of €10.
Fuzzy’s, a bar 50 feet away has walls decorated in old vinyl albums. Maybe it’s early onset Build Me Up Buttercup PTSD, but instantly, the eyes search for The Foundations.
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The rhythm of supporter life returns with that familiar and warm Friday night feeling
A lone Irish tricolour hangs on a balcony with the Shamrock Rovers crest in the centre. By kick-off, less than five minutes’ walk away, it will be one of several decorating the away end. There is also a Norway flag of the Scandinavian Hoops.
As the game progresses, Rovers look more and more assured.
At half-time, they have a one-man advantage after Noonan’s movement and pace led to defender Valdemar Lund panicking with a reckless last-man foul.
Rovers fans in the away end. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
The fans and the players sense blood after the break, Dylan Watts swarming all over Mats Moeller Daehli to win the ball in the box and set up Noonan for his moment of history.
“Bring on the Bohs,” the away end roared in unison.
Stephen Bradley smiled when that was put to him in his post-match press conference.
“This is what we want, it’s about playing these big games. This is what we’re here for.
“It’s about enjoying these moments, winning away in Europe, special nights. You’ve got to enjoy them, and we will, but I said to the players that the moment we step off that plane in Dublin, it’s full focus on Bohs.”
But today is still the time for these Rovers fans to reflect. Some 40,000 feet in the air, a community of people bonded by good times and bad were able to rejoice.
As the flight home continues, they walk up and down the aisle sharing stories and dreaming, hoping, plotting what might be next.
Rovers are scaling new heights for the League of Ireland in Europe and they’re all here to embrace the journey.
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Magic in Molde: 24 hours with Shamrock Rovers fans on historic European trip
AS THE PLANE sits on the tarmac at Molde Airport and 200 or so Shamrock Rovers fans wait to return home, some red eyes wince in different directions.
To the left is the water of the fjord. Enticing and still, it glimmers beneath the sun and beautiful snow-capped mountains.
“It’s like Blessington,” one says.
“Would you stop. You can’t compare that to Blessington,” his pal beside him replies. “Yeah, look, there’s bleedin’ Johnny Fox’s.”
To the right are a mix of wooden cabins and modern, slick homes nestled in the hills, pristine and imposing pine trees towering above with as much authority as Roberto Lopes.
Most heads on the plane are bowed. But not beaten.
Phones are out and the Rovers fans remain transfixed by the achievement of their team. A 1-0 win in the away leg of their Uefa Conference League tie last night means some heads have dropped to catch up on sleep after celebrations continued long into the bitingly cold night.
Plenty more scroll through their various social media feeds. One opens a video of Michael Noonan’s goal.
He replays it five times and then checks the comments underneath before watching it again.
Another post has been doing the rounds. Noonan’s mother has put up a picture of her son with his schoolbag on his back heading to his first class of the morning.
At 16 years and 187 days old, he is the youngest scorer in Rovers’ European history.
He is the youngest scorer in the Uefa Conference League since the competition began in 2021.
While Nii Lamptey was 16 years, two months and 18 days old when he found the net in the old Uefa Cup back in 1991, Noonan is the youngest scorer in European club football in the modern era of expanded group and league phase football, and the additional knockout ties that come with it.
But that doesn’t mean he gets to skip double maths on a Friday morning.
It’s hard to comprehend, as one veteran Rovers fan summed up succinctly. “I’m in a state of disbelief about what they’ve done.”
The job isn’t finished and so long as they avoid defeat in Tallaght Stadium next week, Rovers’ historic European campaign will continue against either Cercle Brugge or Legia Warsaw in the last 16.
That Rovers fan clicks back onto the video of Noonan’s goal again. He keeps on watching as the plane takes off and rises into the sky.
It’s the highlight of what turned out to be a truly historic trip, and The 42 was there for 24 hours with them.
***
The red and black rucksack that one Rovers fan has for his essentials is an easy, and obvious, target.
“Sorry, no Bohs allowed,” someone says in the queue for the charter flight.
“I won’t be bringing it with me to the Aviva on Sunday, that’s for sure,” he replies.
The travelling faithful have every reason to savour such an epic week.
Not only is the new League of Ireland season returning, but this layover in Molde comes just 72 hours before they open their campaign against their great Dublin rivals in front of what’s shaping up to be a record 30,000-plus crowd in Dublin 4.
The first sign that this might be Rovers’ night is visible on approach to the airport. The terminal is lit up in green and white.
The second comes passing through security when “Build Me Up Buttercup”, the unofficial club anthem, booms through the building’s speakers.
The smell of destiny – and Joop from duty free – is in the air.
From 8am onwards, fans begin to form groups inside and outside the Gate Clock Bar. Pockets of different conversations take place, some friends catching up for the first time since last season finished, picking up where they left off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
One pulls out his laptop just as the clock strikes 9am. He signs into his work system and scrolls through emails in an impressive dedication to remote working.
He’s earned the pint of Guinness that’s placed in front of him by his pal.
As the plane begins to fill, two women start to throw out some cereal bars to lads in the rows around them. They’ve already been on stronger stuff for their brekkie.
For some, anticipation is matched by relief at not missing out, one fan explaining how he got the green light from his fiancé to book on for the trip after sacrificing the away days during the league phase as they save for the wedding. A Valentine’s present, of sorts.
The gesture from the club to pay for all match tickets in Molde is welcome and appreciated.
The songs begin about 45 minutes into the two-hour flight. A live rendition of “Build Me Up Buttercup” is first.
Sunday is on their mind too.
“Oh what a night, watching Rovers on Thursday nights, Bohs play friendlies cause they’re f***ing shite, what a feeling, what a night.”
***
Molde is a quaint, serene town of 31,967 people – there will likely be more in the Aviva on Sunday.
The soft whizz of electric cars is only partially disturbed by the crackle, crackle, crackle of gritted roads and snow tyres.
Their Aker Stadium is beautiful and the ferry that taxis people to and from neighbouring islands on the adjacent fjord complements the scenery.
Almost all the shop windows have the blue and white flags of their football team hanging outside, with scarfs draped across displays from children’s books to boutique clothing stores.
And even here, in what is effectively a winding, one-road town, O’Leary’s Irish Bar on the corner is a hub for home and away fans alike, where the cheapest pint is just shy of €10.
Fuzzy’s, a bar 50 feet away has walls decorated in old vinyl albums. Maybe it’s early onset Build Me Up Buttercup PTSD, but instantly, the eyes search for The Foundations.
A lone Irish tricolour hangs on a balcony with the Shamrock Rovers crest in the centre. By kick-off, less than five minutes’ walk away, it will be one of several decorating the away end. There is also a Norway flag of the Scandinavian Hoops.
As the game progresses, Rovers look more and more assured.
At half-time, they have a one-man advantage after Noonan’s movement and pace led to defender Valdemar Lund panicking with a reckless last-man foul.
The fans and the players sense blood after the break, Dylan Watts swarming all over Mats Moeller Daehli to win the ball in the box and set up Noonan for his moment of history.
“Bring on the Bohs,” the away end roared in unison.
Stephen Bradley smiled when that was put to him in his post-match press conference.
“This is what we want, it’s about playing these big games. This is what we’re here for.
“It’s about enjoying these moments, winning away in Europe, special nights. You’ve got to enjoy them, and we will, but I said to the players that the moment we step off that plane in Dublin, it’s full focus on Bohs.”
But today is still the time for these Rovers fans to reflect. Some 40,000 feet in the air, a community of people bonded by good times and bad were able to rejoice.
As the flight home continues, they walk up and down the aisle sharing stories and dreaming, hoping, plotting what might be next.
Rovers are scaling new heights for the League of Ireland in Europe and they’re all here to embrace the journey.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
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