- Shamrock Rovers (0) v Ludogorets (3)
- Champions League, second round qualifying, second leg
- Kick-off: Tallaght stadium, 8pm
Shamrock Rovers tilt at Champions League football will almost certainly end on Tuesday night, so best keep an eye on Shkupi versus Dinamo Zagreb at the Toše Proeski Arena. The North Macedonians escaped Croatia with a 2-2 result last week, with the losers of the second leg set to block Rovers’ route into the Europa League.
Defeat to Dinamo or Shkupi would see Rovers spill into a play-off for the European Conference League, also known as The Three Million Euro Game, as prize money enters the stratosphere. Reach the Conference group stages and a cool €500,000 is on the table for winning a match.
So, to clear up any confusion, lose tonight on aggregate — a sure bet after the concession of a calamitous third goal last week in Razgrad — before another defeat over two legs to the aforementioned and Rovers can still scramble into the third tier of European football with its eye-popping rewards.
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Such progress will make it next to impossible for any other Irish club to challenge for domestic honours.
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None of this is Rovers’ fault, but a decade of dominance out Tallaght way is laid before an FAI struggling to rehabilitate their fragile football community. Nobody can say they didn’t see it coming.
An example lands on their doorstep tonight as Ludogorets have swept to the Bulgarian title for 11 straight seasons since billionaire Kiril Domuschiev crushed the Sofia duopoly of Levski and CSKA.
Not that Drogheda United received the memo on Saturday afternoon with a late equaliser by Evan Weir overshadowed by Pico Lopes’s knee injury and Jack Byrne’s latest setback.
Rovers two most influential players simply have to recover if this European campaign is to bear fruit. Byrne has played just 13 minutes, against Hibernians of Malta in the first round, since May 23rd as a calf problem has morphed into a hip flexor complaint.
Considering Danny Mandroiu has joined Lincoln City, Rovers investment in creativity appears to be coming up short. A match fit Byrne would change all that but the clock is ticking. Also, Blackpool are expected to make a third bid for Ireland under-21 Andy Lyons.
“We know what we’re up against but we know Tallaght will be full and we’ve had some special nights in Tallaght,” said Stephen Bradley. “Hopefully we can have another one.”
The alternative is to exposé gifted teenagers Justin Ferizaj and Aidomo Emakhu to a pace that appeared to shock more seasoned Rovers professionals last Tuesday in Bulgaria. Only Rory Gaffney did not look out of his depth in a chastising first half.
Rovers responded to Ludogorets’ superiority, masterminded by Brazilian Alex Santana, with a compact second 45 minutes until an error by Lee Grace had players roaring at each other after Igor Thiago’s last second sucker-punch.
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“It’s almost impossible really at three-nil,” Bradley conceded on the night. “We shot ourselves in the foot right at the end.”
Similar regrets were expressed in 2021, which begs the question, how many more harsh lessons do Rovers need to learn before the European worm turns? Answers are not expected until August, but a prudent approach is needed against a side that exists significantly higher up the food chain.
Because a Ludogorets on song will tear most teams to shreds, especially if Cypriot striker Pieros Sotiriou and Ghanaian winger Bernard Tekpetey reappear.
