Uefa Conference League 3rd qualifying round, 1st leg: Ballkani (Kosovo) v Shamrock Rovers, Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri, Pristina, 7.30pm Irish time
Perfection. That is all Stephen Bradley seeks from his understrength Shamrock Rovers team against Ballkani in Kosovo.
Rovers are 10 points clear at the top of the Premier Division and well on course to secure a fifth title in six years. However, losing the title race last season to Shelbourne makes a return to the Uefa Conference League group stage for a third time since 2022 far more difficult.
Shels are the seeded Irish club in Europe, with safety nets that allow them drop from the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers, before securing a playoff to reach the Conference League proper.
“Over the next four weeks, you almost need to be perfect to get to where you want to be,” said Bradley. “There’s no safety net. There’s no backdoor. The route we have is tricky but we knew it was going to be. We knew it was going to be hard.
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“That’s the beauty of the champions’ spot. And not having that, we knew it was going to be difficult. And what I said at the start, our aim is to get into the league phase.
“Can we do it? Time will tell.”
But we’re in a position that we’ve got a really good squad and everybody’s ready to play
— Stephen Bradley
Rovers travelled to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, without injured quintet Aaron McEneff, Matt Healy, Graham Burke, Jack Byrne and Trevor Clark. Byrne and McEneff are also ruled out of the second leg in Tallaght next Thursday.
“They’re top players,” Bradley said. “I think if it was the last game of the season and you’re going to win the league, or if it was a cup final, I’m sure they would all be available to play.
“But we’re in a position that we’ve got a really good squad and everybody’s ready to play. And we don’t need to take silly risks with players.
“I think that’s really important. Last year, we had to do that. We were forced into that because of the injury situation. And as a result, obviously, we kept re-injuring the players.”
Connor Malley, the recent signing from Sligo Rovers, is expected to fill the gap often manned by Byrne and Healy.
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“Connor’s ready to go. He slots right into what we do,” said the Rovers boss.
If the Hoops prevail, they face the winners of Larne and Santa Clara, the Portuguese club from the Azores, which would require an eight-hour flight.
Considering how poor Larne were against Rovers in the Conference League last season at Windsor Park, when Burke inspired a 4-1 win, Santa Clara are strongly fancied to progress.
Rovers are capable of taking this tie back to Tallaght where they should finish the job next Thursday.
