2022 Season Preview: Shamrock Rovers

Pico Lopes lifting the league trophy last season

Pico Lopes lifting the league trophy last season Credit: Brian F Smyth (ETPhotos)

Head Coach: Stephen Bradley    

Stadium: Tallaght Stadium

Players in: Jack Byrne (APOEL), Andy Lyons (Bohemians)

Players out: Killian Cahill (Brighton & Hove Albion), Dylan Duffy (UCD), Alex Dunne (UCD), Darragh Nugent (Drogheda United - loan), Max Murphy (Bohemians), Dean McMenamy (Longford Town - loan), Alex Moody (Wexford), Jordan Tallon (Wexford), Dean Williams (Drogheda United), Adam Wells (Wexford - loan),

extratime.com Key Man: Jack Byrne

In his first spell at Shamrock Rovers, Byrne lit up Tallaght Stadium and grounds around the League of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland internationasl was a key ingredient in Rovers winning their first FAI Cup in 32 years and their first league title for nine years as they won the 2020 title without losing a game.

He scored 17 goals in his 50 league games. Last season the Hoops secured the title without the services of Byrne during his truncated time with APOEL and his return to Rovers has been warmly welcomed by the Hoops faithful – opposition supporters and defenders weren’t so happy with the news.

extratime.com One to Watch: Aidomo Emakhu

As a 17-year-old last season Aidomo Emakhu became Rovers’ youngest ever goalscorer in Europe when he got the late winner in the club’s 1-0 win over Albanian champions KF Teuta in Europa League qualifiers in August. Overall he made 14 appearances in all competitions scoring two goals – playing in 11 of Rovers’ last 14 fixtures of the season.



Stephen Bradley’s sides aren’t reliant on a dominant number to score 20 goals but the role is pivotal to the success of the team. With both Rory Gaffney and Aaron Greene 32 years of age, the opportunity is for Emakhu to make that central striker role his own in years to come.

How they did last season:

League: Champions

In 2020, the Hoops went through the 18-game covid-19 hit season without losing a match and continued that at the start of the last season going undefeated winning eight of their first 11 games.

The streak without a loss ran all the way till May. It was a run of 33 games unbeaten that eclipsed the previous league record of 30 matches held jointly by a Rovers side from the 1926/27 season and Athlone Town in 1980/81.



They had a couple of spells during the season when they struggled with injuries and dropped points. Mid-season there was an eight game spell, when they won just two matches and drew three in a period when captain Ronan Finn missed four matches, Joey O’Brien five and Dylan Watts seven. 

However, they subsequently went on a run of nine wins in ten matches, enabling them to secure back-to-back titles with three games remaining.

They ended the season winning the league by a massive 16-point margin over runners up St. Patrick’s Athletic – only the 2008 Bohs side with a 19 point lead have won the league title by more.

En-route to their 19th league title, the Hoops set a new club record for number of wins in a league campaign (24) and points earned in a season (78).

FAI Cup: Runners Up

The biggest disappointment of Rovers’ 2021 season was being dumped out of the cup at Dalymount Park by a Bohs team who finished 26 points behind them in the table. The Gypsies beat the Hoops three times along with a draw from the five games between the sides last season in the league and cup.

With both teams down to ten men in the cup tie and the score 1-1, Andy Lyons scored three minutes from time for Bohs to send all of Dalymount Park into delirium. Lyons will line out with the Hoops this season.

Europe: Eliminated in Europa Conference League play-off round

Rovers made it through three rounds in Europe, winning three games in a row in European competition for the first time ever but ultimately came up short in making it back to the group stages of a European competition a decade on from first doing so.

The Hoops weren’t seeded in the Champions League qualifiers and came up just short against Slovan Bratislava. They lost the away leg 2-0 and led 2-0 in Tallaght with 20 minutes to go before Vladimir Weiss scored a winner for the visitors when the home team felt Pico Lopes was fouled in the build up to the goal.

Rovers dropped into the Europa Conference League and got the benefit of a bye into the third qualifying round where they played Albanian champions KF Teuta. Aidomo Emakhu got the winner in the first leg in Tallaght, with Rory Gaffney scoring twice in Albania to give the Hoops a 3-0 win and a place in the play-off round.

They came up against Flora Tallinn in the play-off and the Estonian champions punished the Hoops for defensive mistakes in both legs. Flora won at home 4-2 and followed that up with a 1-0 win in Tallaght Stadium to see the Hoops exit Europe one step from the group stages.

What to expect this season:

The Hoops domestically will be focusing on a three-in-a-row as they look to secure their 20thleague and a second star above the crest on their jersey but European action is sure to dominate their thinking during the summer with a place in a group stages very much their aim.

The Hoops will most likely be seeded in Europe and taking the champions route through European competition it should provide them a favourable draw.

Derry City, St. Patrick’s Athletic and a resurgent Dundalk side are all likely to provide stiffer competition than the last couple of seasons in the title race as Rovers, who are league favourties, seek to make it a three-peat of league triumphs for the first time since the 1980s. 

First game: The Hoops begin their title defence at home to UCD but they kick off their competitive season playing in the President’s Cup Final against FAI Cup holders St. Patrick’s Athletic at Tallaght Stadium this Friday.

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile