Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers face potential all-island clashes in Europe
The League of Ireland champions will face the winner of Greek outfit PAOK and Austria's Wolfsberger should they beat Rijeka in the third round of the Europa League.
If Shelbourne lose they drop to the Conference League to play the winner of the third round tie between Linfield and Vikingur from the Faroe Islands.
Shels beat Linfield 2-1 on aggregate in the first round of Champions League qualifying, with a 1-0 win in Tolka Park followed by a 1-1 draw at Windsor Park.
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Shamrock Rovers play either Larne or Portugal's Santa Clara should they beat Kosovan side FC Ballkani in the third round of the Conference League.
St Patrick's Athletic will play the winner of FC Lausanne-Sport from Switzerland and FC Astana (Kazakhstan) should they find a way around Turkish giants Besiktas.
Celtic will play either Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan) or Slovakia's SK Slovan Bratislava in their Champions League play-off tie.
Rangers face either Austrian side Salzburg or Club Brugge from Belgium in the play-off round if they win their third-round qualifier against Viktoria Plzen.
Europa League play-off draw:
Shelbourne/Rijeka v PAOK (Greece) / Wolfsberger (Austria)
Conference League play-off draw:
Loser of Shelbourne/Rijeka v Winner of Vikingur (Faroe Islands)/Linfield
Larne/Santa Clara (Portugal) v Ballkani/Shamrock Rovers
Lausanne Sports (Switzerland)/FC Astana (Kazakhstan) v St Patrick's Athletic/Besiktas
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The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Rory Gaffney reveals fitness battle before leading Shamrock Rovers' title charge with crucial goals
The 35-year-old has fired Shamrock Rovers to the brink of another league title with ten goals and a relentless work ethic that has won the trust of boss Stephen Bradley RORY GAFFNEY admitted he had to sprint before he could think of another Shamrock Rovers' run. Gaffney, 35, moved the Hoops' a step closer to their fifth title in six years on Sunday night with two goals to beat Derry City at Tallaght Stadium. Advertisement 2 Rory Gaffney has ten goals in all competitions this season for the Hoops. 2 Gaffey bagged a double against Derry City on Sunday and chipped in during their Euro clash vs St Joseph's It gives them a ten-point lead at the top with ten games to go, with Gaffney a key man in that run as he has also scored pivotal winning goals against Waterford and Galway United. He has ten-goals in all competitions this season and has had boss Stephen Bradley singing his praises all year. Yet, when the season kicked off last February, Gaffney - from Tuam - was out of contract and training without pay in a bid to prove his fitness after a write-off of a 2024 season. An ankle problem meant his season ended last April, and Gaffney - who turned down two-year offers elsewhere to sign a one -year with the Hoops last year - had few options. Advertisement But Gaffney never had any doubt as he felt he just had to prove his fitness. He said: 'When you get a bit older people kind of question your age, but I lived a clean life for 10-15 years. 'I've never been a big drinker, I've always been mad into training and coming from a GAA background, you do plenty of gym work. 'I know I've been unlucky and had a lot of big injuries, but I've only had three or four muscle injuries in 10-15 years, so I've been very lucky like that. Advertisement 'I know last year I was injured but I was training non-stop, I just couldn't sprint, that was the issue. When I was sprinting I'd break down.' 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Gaffney - who joined the Hoops in 2020 and was player of the year in 2022 - was also confident he would earn a new deal once he proved his fitness. Advertisement He added: 'I just knew I had to get fit. I played a game against Bohs U20s on the Friday night or Saturday night (before the season started) and just proved my fitness in that. 'I was able to run. I didn't touch the ball, but I was able to run. The gaffer saw I could run and said 'that's enough for me'. 'I haven't missed a training session since I signed this season. I haven't played a whole lot at the start of the season but I was doing a lot of extra training.' Rovers' still look after him as Gaffney - who has featured in 21 of the 27 games in all competitions when he was available - has played just one 90 minutes. Advertisement NOT DONE YET And the 35-year-old agreed with Bradley that he also believes he can continue on next season, pointing to 37-year-old Padraig Amond at Waterford as an example. He added: 'How I feel now, if it was the end of the season, there is no question that I could play again next year. 'I think it's taking it season by season but the last thing I want to be doing is travelling up and down from Galway knowing I'm not going to play, being poor in training and not impacting matches or not getting a game. 'I've had a good run at it now, I don't want to drag it on if there's no reason to.' Advertisement But Bradley insisted that Gaffney's knowhow means he can make an impact even if as he gets older having changed his game since his Limerick days over a decade ago. Bradley added: 'He was raw, Rory was all power and pace then. That's what he relied on. It was a dream to play him as a midfielder, but now his whole game is refined. 'That just comes with age, understanding, experience.' Gaffney added: 'The league was a different league back then and it was part-time and nowhere as fit, didn't train as much, never recorded games so you couldn't watch games back. 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The 42
8 hours ago
- The 42
Dundalk see off Longford to stay top while Cobh keep up chase with win over Wexford
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Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rangers boss insists post-match rant came from place of 'love and care'
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