Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic ready for big European tests
The Hoops are in Kosovo for their third qualifying round first leg clash with Ballkani while St Pat's are at home as they welcome Turkish side Besiktas to Tallaght Stadium.
Stephen Bradley's side have the easier tie on paper as they take on the runners-up from last season's Superleague campaign.
Ballkani, like Rovers, have enjoyed success on the European stage, making it to the group stages of the Conference League during the 23/24 season.
They bowed out of the Conference League at this stage of the competition last season, losing to Irish League side Larne on penalties after losing their home tie 1-0 and winning 1-0 away.
A 4-2 home victory over Maltese side Floriana in the last round along with a 1-1 draw in the away leg was enough for Ballkani to progress but that home win was their first in six attempts, suggesting that Rovers can get at their hosts.
Ballkani's record of conceding eight goals in those eight games will give Rovers belief that they can take a lead back to Tallaght, as will the form of striker Rory Gaffney who is in a rich vein of form and comes into the game off the back of a brace against Derry City at the weekend.
Gaffney now has eight goals in the last 12 games, having missed much of the early stages of the season through injury and looks ready to make his mark in Europe.
Graham Burke and midfielder Jack Byrne are both in line to start, having been rested against Derry City but Rovers are waiting on the fitness of defender Dan Cleary, who went off injured against the Candystripes.
Gaffney admits that he doesn't know too much about Ballkani, who are currently going through their pre-season campaign, with the Kosovan Superleague running from August to May.
"It's a step into the unknown," Gaffney said. "I don't think anyone has played a team from Kosovo before. I know a couple of their players were playing for Shkupi and Celje, teams we've come up against before. I'm sure they'll be good, they always are.
"You don't know what you're going to get so there's always that bit of uncertainty in the first leg.
"Over there, the weather is going to be warm. Thankfully, it's a grass pitch, not an astro this time.
"We'd back ourselves that if we turn up, we'll give a good account of ourselves and be there or thereabouts. If we bring them back to Tallaght, we'll be a match for anyone."
While Ballkani may be unfamiliar to many football fans, St Patrick's Athletic's opponents are worryingly familiar.
The Saints take on a side that are European regulars when it comes to group stage football as Turkish outfit Besiktas are a side with a genuine European pedigree and with a Champions League winner at the helm.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge of Besiktas in January, his first managerial role since parting company with Manchester United in 2021, but despite only being seven month into the job, Solskjaer is coming under pressure.
A fourth-place finish in the Turkish Super Lig saw Besiktas start their European campaign in the Europa League before a surprise 6-2 defeat on aggregate to Shakhtar Donetsk saw them drop into the Conference League.
The winners of this tie will face either Larne or Portuguese side Santa Clara in the play-off round, with the losers exiting Europe for the season, so anything but a victory for the Turkish side would be considered a disaster.
Solskjaer has a wealth of internationals at his disposal, with household names like Tammy Abraham, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joao Mario and Gabriel Paulista all plying their trade in Istanbul.
Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss the trip to Dublin, sidelined with a ligament issue, while midfielders Mustafa Hekimoglu and Can Keles are also out.
Saints also have injury worries of their own as Zach Elbouzedi picked up a shoulder injury in the last round of the Conference League which will see him miss this rest of the season, while Sean Hoare and Romal Palmer are also out of action, along with Aidan Keena.
With a growing injury list, the Saints have been forced to dip into the transfer market and have signed attacker Jordon Garrick on a short-term deal
The winger was most recently with Forest Green Rovers and has made over 130 appearances in English League football, from his beginnings at Swansea City to spells at Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle and Lincoln City.
Garrick (27) has penned a four-month contract and trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, Kenny believes his side can cause a major upset.
"We've played against some good European teams and put in performances over the last year," he said. "So we can take confidence from those experiences and take it into the game.
"You have to draw on all your experiences, they come into play. But equally, it is a different challenge. We did play Basaksehir last year so the players have experience of playing a top Turkish team and gained some experience in that regard.
"It would be one of the great victories in Irish football history if we could do it. It's a big challenge, Besiktas have a tremendous tradition and are an institution in Turkey."
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The Irish Sun
26 minutes ago
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Advertisement Yet did give many of the 7,821 in attendance something to cheer and means the Saints head to Istanbul next week knowing an early goal will give the Turks a scare. Still, the Turks will expect to run out in Istanbul with the same intensity they showed in the first half and win easily. Spurs v West Ham fan battle: Moyes was 'easily' better than Poch! | Stoppage Time The rout started after just eight minutes when one ball sent Ernest Muci clear on the right and his cut back found Portuguese playmaker Rafa Silva. He had plenty of time but instantly flicked the ball behind him to left winger Joao Mario whose first time shot took a deflection off Joe Redmond and beyond Joe Anang. Advertisement If the Saints could feel hard done by for the first finish, there was no sympathy when the second was belted in by Abraham on 15 minutes. Again, the attack came down the right as Jonas Svensson and he dinked in a cross that was just within Anang's reach. 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Advertisement More often than not, the hosts could not make an impact on the game. And when they did get into attacking positions, their crossing was poor with Mason Melia - namechecked by Solskjaer as a threat beforehand - not given any sight of goal. But boss Stephen Kenny made changes at half-time bringing on Luke Turner and Axel Sjoberg and switching to a back five. And it worked instantly as the Saints pulled a goal back when McClelland's ball down the line sent Power sprinting clear on the left. Advertisement Power is the fastest player in the League of Ireland and Besiktas had no defender who could keep up with him as he coolly beat goalkeeper Merk Gunok at his near post. That lifted the mood among the home fans and the home side as St Pat's then began playing with much more purpose than at any point in the first half. 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Irish Daily Mirror
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Tammy Abraham stars as Besiktas outclass St Patrick's Athletic
St Patrick's Athletic were downed by a four-goal blitz in the first half, which included a hat-trick for former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, as Besiktas overpowered Stephen Kenny's side 4-1 in in the first leg of their third qualifying round encounter at Tallaght Stadium. Despite a spirited second half by the League of Ireland side, the tie is as good as over ahead of the second leg next week. Before kick-off, the Besiktas players wore shirts with 'Stop Crimes against Humanity' emblazoned on the front, with 'Enough is Enough' on the back, in a clear reference to the war in Gaza. For St Pat's, the veteran Chris Forrester came in for Barry Baggley in the only change from last week's win in Estonia. The visitors, managed by Ole Gunner Solskjaer, settled quickly and were ahead in the eighth minute. A quick break down the righthand side by Earnst Muci, whose ball caught the St Pat's defence ball-watching as it worked its way across to Portugal international Joao Mario, who looked to curl a shot into the net. However, his effort took a wicked deflection off Joe Redmond, leaving keeper Joe Anang completely flatfooted as the ball cannoned off the Pat's captain and into the back of the net. It should have been 2-0 in the 13th minute as Joao Mario set up Rafa Silva inside the area, but when it looked easier to score, he ballooned his shot over the bar. But it only delayed the inevitable as, moments later, Jonas Svennson crossed from the right and Anang, diving forward got a hand to it, only for the ball to drop Abraham, and the striker tapped home after it bounced kindly off his chest. Abraham got a second and his side's third at the midway point of the first half. Showing immense strength in holding off defender Tom Grivosti after the ball was flicked into his path by Joao Mario, the big striker calmly dinked the ball over the advancing Anang, stunning the St Pat's support into silence. It could have been four on the half-hour as a delightful one touch build-up by Besiktas led to a fierce shot by Orkun Kokcu fizzing narrowly over the St Pat's crossbar. Pat's did manage to force a corner in the 37th minute but although the ball did end up in the net, the referee had already blown for a foul by Simon Power. It got worse for St Pat's before the break as Jamie Lennon brought down Abraham in the area and from the spot the Englishman sent Anang the wrong way to complete his hat-trick in the 43rd minute to leave it 4-0 at the break to the Turkish side. Then, out of nothing, Pats pulled a goal back three minutes after restart. Jason McClelland placed a delightful left-footed ball down the line to pick out Power (above), who advanced in on goal and cooly beat Mert Gunok at his near post. A lengthy VAR check confirmed the goal as the St Pat's supporters finally had something to shout about. St Pat's should have had a second as Axel Sjoberg, another half-time sub, brilliantly picked out Mason Melia all alone in the area, but with the goal at his mercy, the Spurs-bound striker shot straight at Gunok. Forester tested Gunok with a shot on 75 minutes as Pats looked for a consolation second goal. At the other end, Anang denied Besiktas a fifth goal, saving twice from sub Kartal Yilmaz in the closing stages. St Pat's showed some great resilience in the second half, the pity was that they were like rabbits caught in headlights in the opening period. St Patrick Athletic: Joseph Anang, Ryan McLaughlin, Joe Redmond (captain), Tom Grivosti (Luke Turner 45), Jason McClelland, Chris Forrester (Barry Beggley 82), Jamie Lennon, Kian Leavy (Conor Carty 82), Jake Mulraney (Axel Sjoberg 45), Mason Melia (Brandon Kavanagh 88), Simon Power. Besiktas JK: Mert Gunok (captain), Jonas Svensson (Taylur Bingol 45), Gabriel Paulista, Emirhan Topcu, Jurasek (Tayyip Talha Sanuc 89), Demir Tiknaz (Kartal Yilmaz 75), Orkun Kokcu (Amir Hadziahmetovic 89), Ernst Muci (Kenny Arroyo 59), Rafa Silva, Joao Mario, Tammy Abraham.
