Rory Gaffney scores brace and Josh Honohan nets stunner as Shamrock Rovers rampage into Conference League play-offs
NEVER make Rory Gaffney angry.
Ballkani found that out as the Shamrock Rovers veteran striker turned their goading into goals to put the Hoops in the Conference League play-off round.
2
Rory Gaffney scored as Shamrock Rovers hammered Ballkani
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
2
Josh Honohan scored a stunning volley in front of Heimir Hallgrimsson
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
He scored twice before Josh Honohan - in front of watching Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson - scored a screamer and Graham Burke added a fourth.
It had many of the 6,419 Rovers' fans in attendance singing 'Let's all go on a European tour' and the next round is quite a trek.
The Hoops are in the Azores now next week to face Portuguese outfit Santa Clara in the play-off first leg as they look to make the group stages for the second season running.
Gaffney missed all of last year's European run through injury that even saw him train with the club during the close season without having signed a new contract.
But he was the key man in keeping them on course to make it back to the group stages last night as he showed that revenge is a dish best served with goals.
The Kosovans arrived in Tallaght with a 1-0 lead from the first leg and up against it before defender Arber Potoku decided to wind up the Hoops' hit man.
It came after 37 minutes when Gaffney chased a Roberto Lopes pass and made fools out of Potoku and his fellow centre half Bajran Jashanica only for his shot to be blocked.
Potoku did not show the humility of a man just outrun by a 35-year-old and got straight in Gaffney's face to goad him over the miss.
If the Kosovan thought winding up Gaffney was wise, he learnt the error of his ways as the cold-blooded Rovers man went to work with a goal either side of half-time.
His first was right on 45minutes.
League of Ireland mascots compete in charity race in Naas
Matt Healy clipped the ball down the left for Danny Mandroiu who fired in a low cross that goalkeeper Adnan Golubovic dived out to intercept but fumbled.
And there was Gaffney to wallop into the roof of the net before then turning to Potuku to rub it in.
He did not need to look for Potuku when he scored his second on 48 minutes as the defender must have wished the ground would swallow him up.
Connor Malley easily shrugged him off racing onto a ball on the right of the area and cut the ball to the edge of the six-yard box.
With Ballkani's defence all attracted to the ball, it feel to Gaffney who deftly flicked the ball with his right heel into the far corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Potuku's horrorshow of a night was brought to an end soon after 54 minutes when he was taken off.
And he was still making his way around the pitch to the bench when he saw Honohan score a stunner.
A cross from the left was punched clear by Golubovic to the edge of the area where the Ireland call-up showed amazing technique to volley it instantly back and into the top corner.
The Rovers rout the continued on 67 minutes when Graham Burke - who only came on three minutes earlier - rolled home the Hoops' fourth.
Again, Ballkani were masters of their own downfall as defender Gentrit Halili played a back pass without realising Burke was waiting.
The Hoops striker than coolly skipped past the goalkeeper to tap in the 11th goal in European competition of his career and his ninth of the season.
Rovers' goal glut made it a comfortable win after a first half when patience was required before Gaffney opened the scoring.
He had the ball in the net on 36 minutes when he raced onto a Dylan Watts ball and fired home though it was correctly ruled out for offside.
Earlier, Matt Healy had a deflected shot that went close while Ballkani's only real chance was a Marsel Ismajlgeci effort that came back off the post.
It always felt like a game where Rovers would have to be patient but Gaffney's goals broke Ballkani and ensured the second half was an easy one.
Even before the final whistle, boss Stephen Bradley was conducting the Tallaght fans' songs while supporters also contemplated travel plans.
The play-off also comes with the potential for huge riches. The club have now bagged €1.275 million from Europe this year but that rises to €3.7 million.
They made €6 million from Europe as they went through the group stages to face Molde is last season's competition that ran into the start of this season's League of Ireland campaign.
And they now head to the Azores next week with it in sight again.
SUN STAR MAN
Rory Gaffney (Shamrock Rovers)
SHAMROCK ROVERS: McGinty 7; Cleary 7, Lopes 7, Grace 7; Grant 7, Watts 7 (McGovern 70, 6), Healy 8, Malley 7 (Nugent 70, 6), Honohan 8 (Matthews 70, 6); Mandroiu 7 (Burke 64, 6), Gaffney 9 (Noonan 64, 6).
BALLKANI: Golubovic 5; Halili 5 (Tolaj 81, 6), Jashanica 5, Potoku 4 (Hamidi 54, 6); Smajli 6, Deliu 6, Ismajlgeci 6 (Diene 68, 6), Letaj 6; Giovanni 6, Adetunji 5 (Serebe 68, 6), Kryeziu 6.
REFEREE: M Al-Emara (Finland) 4
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
6 hours ago
- The 42
Dane Murray celebrates contract with goal as Celtic smash Falkirk
DANE MURRAY CELEBRATED his new contract with his first Celtic goal as the holders beat Falkirk 4-1 in the Premier Sports Cup. The 22-year-old defender headed home Celtic's third goal of the second-round clash at Parkhead. Murray, who has already overcome two separate cruciate ligament injuries in his career, earlier signed a new deal that keeps him at the club until 2028. Daizen Maeda and Alistair Johnston were also on target and Falkirk defender Liam Henderson put through his own net before Keelan Adams scored an impressive consolation goal for the Premiership newcomers. Advertisement Centre-back Murray was one of six players coming into the Celtic line-up alongside goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels and ex-Shamrock Rovers striker Johnny Kenny, who made a rare start for the Bhoys. The Hoops beat then Championship side Falkirk 5-2 on their way to winning last season's tournament and this was another open encounter with both sides creating chances in the first half. Kenny volleyed wide early on after James Forrest's lay-off and former Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain saved long-range strikes from Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney before scrambling to meet Henderson's wayward passback, which just went wide. Ross MacIver dragged a shot wide at the other end after a loose pass from Murray. The breakthrough came in the 26th minute after McGregor returned the ball into the box following a corner. Tierney ran on to meet the cross and nodded the ball down for Maeda to score with a diving header. There were further chances at each end before the break. Sinisalo saved brilliantly from Calvin Miller's 25-yard strike before denying Alfredo Agyeman and MacIver. Engels and Forrest missed close-range headers at the other end. Celtic were more dominant after the break and doubled their lead in the 54th minute after Falkirk lost possession from a throw-in. Johnston chased down Miller as the former Celtic player headed back towards his own goal and the right-back won the ball before curling into the far corner with his left foot. Murray got his big moment in the 61st minute when he headed home from an inswinging corner from Engels. Celtic went further ahead three minutes later as Yang Hyun-jun made an instant impact after coming on with home debutant Shin Yamada. The South Korean winger ran past two opponents after Celtic won the ball back deep in the Bairns half, and his low ball across the goalmouth was turned into his own net by Henderson. The noisy visiting fans got a chance to celebrate three minutes later when right-back Adams arrowed a shot into the top corner from 20 yards. That ended the flurry of goals as Celtic safely navigated their way into Saturday evening's quarter-final draw and avoided any injuries ahead of their Champions League play-off first leg against Kairat Almaty on Wednesday.
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers hails Dane Murray's masterful performance
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers claimed the sky's the limit for Dane Murray after the centre-back celebrated his new contract with a maiden goal in first-team football. The 22-year-old headed home Celtic's third goal from an Arne Engels corner as the Hoops beat Falkirk 4-1 at Parkhead to reach the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals. The central defender made his first appearances for Celtic in the Champions League play-offs against Midtjylland in 2021 but subsequently suffered two separate cruciate ligament injuries and did not play another first-team game for three years. He was recalled from a loan spell at Queen's Park midway through last season but injury ended his campaign prematurely after he returned to the Celtic team. However, he was one of six players drafted in by Rodgers for the cup tie and he took his chance with a deft header from close range. Rodgers said: "It's great for him because he's a great boy. He's got a lot of potential. And I think over the next 12 to 18 months, he's going to really grow. "His ceiling is so high. There's areas of the game that he needs to clearly, obviously, work on. "But he's 6ft 4in, he's quick, he can take the ball. He has a comfort with the ball which aligns with top players. "Just, concentration is something that's key for defenders. But I really, really like him and that's hence the reason we've tied him down – and I think he's got a great future." Daizen Maeda scored the only goal of an open first half with a diving header and Celtic took full control after the break with a flurry of goals from Alistair Johnston, Murray and Liam Henderson's own goal, before Keelan Adams notched an impressive consolation. "I thought the performance was very, very good from the first whistle," Rodgers said. "You've seen the hunger in the team and the intensity in the team. "The first half we were good with the ball, but not so good without it. It gave Falkirk a couple of wee opportunities to break through. "We weren't aggressive enough and tight enough. When we corrected that at half-time, we really dominated the second half. "The goals were excellent and I thought we played really, really well." Falkirk manager John McGlynn was frustrated that two Celtic goals came from set-pieces and two others came from his side losing possession deep in their own half. But he was pleased with the way his top-flight newcomers approached the challenge. "Kind of cheap goals, but Celtic deserved to win by that margin," he said. "Of course they did with the amount of pressure they had on us, the amount of corners and the amount of attempts. So I didn't have any complaints about that. "We were kind of causing our own downfall, but I thought Celtic were very, very good. And we'll need to take learnings from that. "But you're spending millions of pounds building a team like that. And I know the Celtic fans are still wanting more signings, but there didn't look much wrong with that team to me."
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shamrock Rovers hero was prepared to 'call it a day' as he faced injury woe
Rory Gaffney has admitted that he had no choice but to take a pay-cut to land a new contract at Shamrock Rovers. The 35-year-old striker knew there was a chance that he would struggle to return to full fitness after ankle and achilles injuries restricted him to just eight Premier Division appearances last season. But he was desperate to secure at least one more year with the Tallaght Stadium side and have another crack at European football and league glory. Manager Stephen Bradley revealed after Gaffney's heroics in Thursday's Europa Conference League win over Ballkani that the Tuam native took a reduction in pay to stay on at Rovers. When it was put to Gaffney that such commitment was unusual in the modern game, he replied: 'I don't know, no other choice! 'It's just the nature of the beast, isn't it? You've been out for a year, you haven't played. You know, you can't expect to be on the same contract.' He admitted that not so long ago, he might have been forced out of the game with age and injury going against him. 'People have asked me in the past, oh, great to be able to play at 35, but if you look at the league 10 years ago, there's not many 35-year-olds that would be able to do it,' he said. 'I have two kids at home. Obviously, bills to pay and all that. Back in the day, there were lads in my situation who might be on, what, 36-week contracts. 'So it was a young man's game, wasn't it? And lads probably had to go off and get jobs. They probably wanted to keep playing, but the contracts weren't there. 'But off the back, I suppose, of the club's success last year with the money they earned, they were in a position to offer me something.' Gaffney missed out on last year's record-breaking league phase campaign because of his injury woes - and it wasn't easy watching his teammates play huge games against teams such as Rapid Vienna and Chelsea. Thanks to his heroics in Europe so far this year, he is just one tie away from the Conference League proper. 'It was just frustrating,' he said, of watching from the sidelines last year, 'but I suppose the lads were doing well. 'Johnny Kenny did well off the back of it, so, you know, it's great to see him do well. He's got a new contract (at Celtic). It's probably off the back of how well he's done last year. 'He's gone back to Celtic full of confidence, and kicked on.' He added: 'It was hard to watch at times, really, but obviously you're delighted for them. My full focus was just trying to get back fit and I was happy to call it a day if I couldn't get fit.' Meanwhile, Gaffney had to battle to get back to full fitness - and he delayed surgery on his ankle just in case he was needed for the Hoops' late, but ultimately unsuccessful, title bid. 'I had the surgery. I had an ongoing issue with the outside of my right ankle,' he explained. 'If the lads didn't get back into the league (title race), last year I would have had the surgery weeks before the season ended. 'But I thought I might be available for selection for the last two weeks, if there was an injury crisis that I put myself forward. 'It didn't happen, and I got the surgery on the Saturday morning after we played Waterford here on the Friday night (on the final day of the season). 'There was a tear in the tendon and then they just stitched it back together. 'Then it was probably eight weeks of, well, two weeks of nothing, and then just gym work, and then I got back jogging and then just kicked on from there.' Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . That was his second time last year to go under the knife. 'In August I had the Achilles surgery,' he said, 'but I had an ongoing issue with the right ankle. 'I didn't want to come back to pre-season and go, actually, this ankle's an issue, so I just said, I have to sort this now. Future proof in the body.' Gaffney managed to prove his fitness in an Under-20s game against Bohemians - and that was enough for manager Stephen Bradley. 'I was obviously training, but there's a big difference between training and matches,' he said. 'I did a couple of weeks training, and the manager said, I just need to see you play in a game. 'I played against the Bohs 20s, played a half, just ran around like a lunatic, trying to get the GPS stats up as much as possible, to show that I could run. 'I didn't touch the ball, but he said he'd seen enough.' These days it's a case of managing his load in training and making sure he is ready for match nights. 'I'd only train on a Monday. Then I'd get Tuesday and Wednesday off, train Thursday, match Friday, then Saturday and Sunday off,' he said. 'Monday is our heavy day, so I'd try to do the heavy session and then I'd kind of do my own thing on a Tuesday.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
