The Hoops have to be pitch perfect to claim group stage prize. Stephen Bradley: ‘It has the makings of being a much better football game because of the Tallaght surface’

Shamrock Rovers will need to be pitch perfect on Thursday night if they are to get UEFA group stage football for the third time in the club’s history.

Slovenia champions NK Celje travel to Tallaght with a 1-0 first leg lead with the prize of a place in the Europa League play-off round at stake and the consolation of a guaranteed spot in the Europa Conference League group stages should that play-off game be lost.

The Hoops had to modify their game plan in Celje last week due to the terrible condition of the pitch. Hoops Head Coach Stephen Bradley left Jack Byrne on the bench for a match played out on a surface he described this week as “dangerous” and “genuinely the worst pitch I’ve ever seen”.

Rovers return to the green green grass of home in Tallaght Stadium on Thursday for the second leg but speaking to extratime.com after the club’s 1-1 home league draw with Drogheda United Stephen Bradley isn’t banking on the Tallaght pitch being the deciding factor in the tie.

“As much as the Tallaght pitch will suit us, of course it will, it will suit them as well,” said Bradley. “It has the makings of being a much better football game because of the surface. We are not under any illusions that it is only going to suit us. They have very good players”

The loser of this week’s Europa League third round qualifier will drop into the Conference League play-off where they will face a long trek to play the winners of the contest between Ordabasy of Kazakhstan and Pyunik of Armenia. Pyunik won the first leg 1-0 in Kazakhstan.

Rich man’s world

The winners of the Rovers and Celje tie will move on to the Europa League play-off where they will come up against the loser of the Malmo and PAOK Champions League third round tie – the first leg finished 2-2 in Sweden. Rovers played PAOK in the Europa League group stages back in 2011 - losing 2-1 away and 3-1 in Tallaght.

The Hoops have essentially already banked €1.71 million for at least guaranteeing themselves a place in the play-off round and if they go on to claim Conference League group stage football football that will bring their earnings up to a minimum €3.87 million (plus additional five year and ten year rankings UEFA prize money that could add close to another €1 million).

It all means that Rovers are playing for well over €2 million in this one match alone this week.

Last Sunday in between the first and second legs, NK Celje won their league game 4-2 at home to Radomlje while Rovers put in a poor performance against Drogheda United in Tallaght on Sunday according to Bradley.

“We just weren't good enough,” said the Head Coach about a game they went 1-0 up thanks to Darragh Burns but conceded a goal in the last quarter.

Bradley made six changes to his team from Slovenia but said the side he picked was “good enough to win the game but we were slow and sloppy. It was like we were waiting for the game to happen rather than making it happen. If you do that in this league, you don't win games and we didn't win.”

Positives

The positives in the match came from Burns’ well taken goal and from the performance of 18-year-old wingback Cory O’Sullivan.

The teenager, who has been in with the first team full time since sitting his Leaving Cert this summer, scored in only his second league start in Rovers’ 2-1 win in Waterford in their previous game in and backed that up with another good game against the Boynesiders.

Bradley said: “I thought Cory was probably our best player. He was excellent.”

The manager believes he doesn’t need to pick his players up after they failed to capitalise on both Shelbourne and Derry City dropping points over the weekend. The European prize up for grabs this week should sharpen their minds.

“When you are playing at the level we are, it is Thursday-Sunday-Thursday-Sunday, you are going to win, draw and lose games. You don't get too high or too low. You recover, understand what happened, move on and get ready for the next game.

"That is what we will do. We didn't deserve to win the game (against Drogheda) but we will refocus, refresh and get ready for a tough game on Thursday. Hopefully we can get a big crowd and make it a special night.”

When the Hoops qualified for the Europa League in 2011, they did so with an away win in Belgrade and the 2022 Europa Conference League qualification came with an away victory in North Macedonia.

Thursday gives Rovers the chance to claim that group stage prize in front of their own home fans and with 90% of tickets sold by Monday night for the South and Main Stands they will be hoping that the large attendance – and that Tallaght pitch – can be the postive difference on the night for the League of Ireland champions.