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Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Easy win for Rovers as they begin FAI Cup campaign with a stroll
With 65 minutes on the clock, Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley turned to his bench and changed half his outfield players. Five substitutions at once isn't something you see too often in competitive games. But with First Division Wexford making life difficult for Bradley's Premier Division table-toppers, he obviously felt the need to shake things up. It wasn't long before two of those changes, Graham Burke and Danny Mandroiu, combined to finally put the game beyond their visitors. A third, Rory Gaffney, embellished the scoreline with a late strike, while Mandroiu also got on the scoresheet in the 90th minute. From former Ireland striker Stephen Elliott's point of view, his stomach must have sunk when he saw Rovers' five substitutes assembling on the touchline. Burke, Mandroiu ,Gaffney, Dylan Watts and Matt Healy would make some five-a-side team. Forget a goalkeeper, you wouldn't need one with their ability to keep the ball. Elliott's players had done so well to frustrate the Hoops, while they didn't look too shabby going forward either. Aji Oluwabiyi left Rovers for Wexford earlier this month and he was a livewire on the left. Eager to show his old employers what they were missing, he wasn't far off a goal nine minutes into the second-half, wh en he cut inside from the left, onto his right foot, and curled the ball inches wide of the far post. At this stage, Rovers were ahead through Victor Ozhianvuna's eighth minute goal. He hooked a classy volley into the roof of Paul Martin's net from 12 yards, connecting sweetly with Darragh Nugent's right-wing delivery. Conceding so early, you feared for Wexford, but they held firm and displayed plenty of attacking ambition of their own. Oluwabiyi's pace caused plenty of problems and he forced Lee Grace into a block in the 25th minute. Bradley handed a first start to recent signing from Dungannon Swifts, John McGovern, and he was just a foot wide of the upright with a header from an Ozhianvuna centre. McGovern linked up well with 16-year-old Michael Noonan, who should have added a couple of goals to his tally so far this season. However, Martin in the Wexford goal was in great form and he thwarted a number of Rovers attacks. He saved from Noonan in the 27th minute, and raced from his line to deny Jack Byrne from a tight angle shortly before half-time. Then twice early in the second-half he got the better of Rovers' brilliant teenage striker; advancing to parry Noonan's drive after a McGovern through-pass, and then, moments later, getting his hands to the ball when Noonan attempted to go around him. If your mega-talented starting-11 can't seal the deal, and you can bring so many outstanding players off the bench, why not throw five pairs of fresh legs onto the pitch? Gaffney was the first of the quintet to test Martin. He thought he'd done enough when he got his head to Nugent's cross at the back-post, but Martin somehow kept it out. It was a sore one for the goalkeeper, as he collided with his post in making the save. He played on after receiving treatment, but could do little to stop Rovers' subs from going goal-crazy in the closing stages. With 75 minutes on the clock, Burke played the ball to Mandroiu, who sent Nugent galloping down the left. His pull-back was controlled by Burke, who finished from 12 yards. Gaffney made it three in the 83rd minute when he hooked home a Grace header from close range. Sub Watts was involved in that one, as it was his corner that found the former Wexford defender's head. And when Gaffney laid the ball off to Mandroiu in the 90th minute, he made no mistake with his finish.
The 42
5 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Figures that show new generation of LOI stars could earn millions
MAYBE WINDSOR PARK is a lucky omen for League of Ireland teams, the kind of venue that is a catalyst for hope and greater possibilities. The parallels between the post-match scenes on Wednesday night after Shelbourne edged clear of Linfield in Champions League qualifying and when Shamrock Rovers blitzed Larne 4-1 in the league phase of last season's Uefa Conference League did not stop with the jubilant celebrations in front of delirious travelling supporters. Comparisons could be drawn, too, in the sense of confidence and opportunity that the respective triumphs inspired. Last October, Rovers' head coach Stephen Bradley was enthused during post-match duties in Belfast after guiding his side to the club's first win in a group/league phase of European competition – worth an additional €400,000 to the club coffers on top of €3 million for qualifying. The new 36-team format sees the top eight qualify for the last 16 automatically with those ranked ninth to 24th battling it out in the play-offs. 'We want to qualify out of the first phase, that's been one of our aims,' Bradley said. 'Why not? Why can't it be our aim? Let's go and try and do it, yeah. I don't see why we should put a limit on what we can do here.' Rovers backed up Bradley's words and became the first Irish club to reach the knockout stages of European competition, earning over €6m in the process. Close to 20% of that pot would be divvied up in prize money in the players' pool, with a certain portion guaranteed and the rest related to appearances and performances. Fast forward to this week and Shels boss Joey O'Brien was just as pleased after progress to the second qualifying round of the Champions League guaranteed at least a place in the play-offs of the Conference League, due to the safety nets of the champions' path, and €1.7m in prize money for the club. 'Ultimately, to get the real money, you must make group stages. I told the lads in there that's the aim. We don't want this to be our [only] European memory. We want to go and create more history by qualifying for the groups,' he said. Shels will earn a minimum of €3.17m should they replicate Rovers' qualification, and then the money will really hit for players. Advertisement Sean Boyd was up front in the aftermath of Wednesday's win that talk of bonuses was a topic of discussion, which is hardly surprising given they have the kind of impact of players' lives that so many of us can relate to – paying off bills, saving for a house, getting a mortgage, or in the recently-engaged Boyd's case possibly paying for a wedding. 'She's already spent everything,' Boyd joked. 'I said [to her], potentially, if we get through, we get this [amount]. And she's like, 'oh, lovely, that will pay for the wedding'. We've to buy a house as well, so it's all coming at once. 'Ganno had mentioned during the week, it's like you get a deposit for your house obviously if you go through a few rounds so that's kind of where the players in the league probably make some decent money. So, yeah, another incentive probably.' The 'Ganno' that Boyd referenced is Sean Gannon and he is a fascinating test case for what the future might hold for those top-tier League of Ireland players who spend their careers in this country. He only turned 34 last week but has won 11 Premier Division titles between 2011 and 2024 with Rovers (two spells), St Patrick's Athletic, Dundalk, and Shels. As the Reds are also guaranteed six more games this season the defender is set to overtake Ronan Finn's record of 63 appearances in Europe for a League of Ireland player if he features in each of the fixtures. With that in mind, and given the current European formats as well as growth of basic earnings and bonuses at top clubs, it's safe to estimate that the next Sean Gannon will comfortably become a millionaire in the League of Ireland. And there may well become more like him at the top table. The Beat sources have laid out what we understand to be an accurate pay scale for those current established professionals at the top clubs in the country; starting at €50,000 per year for Category 3, €100,000 for Category 2, and a small, elite group touching €150,000 in Category 1. As players can also expect to share 20% of European prize money between them (ranging from €30,000-50,000), it is now feasible to consider that those from all three categories who spend at least 10 years at the top and qualify for European league phase football in half of those campaigns could earn the following; Category 3 – €750,000 Category 2 – €1,250,000 Category 3 – €1,750,00 A tall order, for sure, but with such financial and professional rewards now on the line it is definitely enough to maintain motivation levels and help retain the calibre of talent capable of achieving such targets. And that's before you consider the added security that comes with Sportsperson's tax relief, which explains that players 'may claim a deduction of 40% of certain income arising in any 10 of the following years: your year of retirement or the preceding 14 years of assessment.' It's understood that there are already players who will have the comfort of considerable six-figure sums once they hang up their boots. In a week when the Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland (PFA Ireland) secured an increase in the minimum wage starting next season from €430 per week to €450, and their research detailed that the average weekly wage in a full-time Premier Division now stands at €890 per week (it was around €700 last year), it's clear that strides continue to be made across the board. But for those among the elite, challenging for titles and battling for league phase football in Europe, there will be millions to be made from staying in the League of Ireland. Of course, the above detail is based on figures standing still in terms of European prize money and the domestic growth continuing at a conservative pace. Who knows what might happen when the Virgin TV deal is to be renewed before 2029 and we could also have Bohemians and Sligo Rovers in new, modern stadiums? Not to mention Finn Harps or Wexford, with St Patrick's Athletic possibly even advancing their own case for redevelopment of Richmond Park. Even the value of winning the FAI Cup has soared, so how apt that the second round starts this weekend and Shels travel to Limerick on Saturday to face non-league side Fairview Rangers before welcoming Qarabag to Tolka Park in the Champions League on Wednesday. Whoever lifts the FAI Cup in Aviva Stadium this November will be guaranteed €700,000 in prize money from European qualification as they will go into the Europa League and have the safety net of a second tie in the Conference League should it be required. That is because success of clubs – specifically Rovers – has improved the overall Uefa coefficient to a point where should the Hoops win the Premier Division this season they will be seeded for two rounds of Europe next season. That is the kind of bonus territory we are looking at.
The Irish Sun
17-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Day to forget for Drogheda United as Shamrock Rovers rub salt into the wound after CAS appeal verdict
DROGHEDA UNITED felt they never got a rub of the Greene - as their Conference League expulsion was followed by defeat to Shamrock Rovers. Aaron Greene was the Hoops match winner as the league leaders came from behind to see off the dogged Drogs and extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points. But Kevin Doherty's Drogheda United just felt it was a day where nothing would go their way. Their appeal against UEFA's decision to deny them Conference League entry under the multi-club owner rule And they were then aggrieved by a big decision going against them that gave Rovers' their equaliser just four minutes before half-time. It happened when Dylan Watts' ball drifted through to Luke Dennison just before Graham Burke arrived only, for the referee to then give a handball against Andrew Quinn. Read More On Irish Football It was given by assistant referee Emmett Dynan - and Hoops' fans who had the same view as he did were adamant it was handball - though no one on the pitch argued for it. Yet when the Drogs had retreated ten yards and Burke had curled the ball around the wall and just inside Dennison's right-hand post. It meant the Drogs were upset for the second time of the evening even as they came to terms with the confirmation that they will not be in the Conference League. Never before had the Drogs pre-match song 'Don't worry be happy' been so appropriate, as the crowd got into it with the first 'Drogheda 'til I die' coming' in the third minute. Most read in Football And they took the lead in the fourth. A high corner from the left by Shane Farrell was met by a towering George Cooper as he climbed above Josh Honohan and Cory O'Sullivan to head powerfully into the net. Chelsea launch Club World Cup campaign with 2-0 victory over LAFC in Atlanta But that was as good as it got for the home side as the Hoops seized control after that and rarely even let them out of their own half. The could have equalised a minute later only to be denied three times. Honohan's cross from the right found Trevor Clarke rushing in from the left but his volley was brilliantly palmed away by Luke Dennison. There were then two more chances as Burke's follow-up was blocked by Quinn and Watts shot straight at Dennison. 1 Aaron Greene's strike in the 74th minute secured the 2-1 away win But for the most part, Rovers' could not find a way through the massed ranks of claret and blue with Quinn especially seeming to get his head to everything. And, there was always a risk that the Drogs could conjure something from a set-piece or on the break, with Farrell forcing Ed McGinty into a flying save on 31 minutes. But Burke's goal four minutes before half-time left the Drogs feeling aggrieved and saw gaffer Kevin Doherty booked for his protests. HOOPS FRUSTRATION Not that the Hoops were any happier with referee Neil Doyle, who walked off the pitch at half time escorted by Rovers' Stephen Bradley and Glenn Cronin, and Drogs No. 2 Daire Doyle. The visitors were further incensed when he failed to award a free when Cooper took down substitute Michael Noonan when he would have been through on goal on 70 minutes. But by then, the game had slipped into the same pattern as the first half with Rovers pressing and Drogheda looking for breakaways. The hosts had half chances with Quinn twice leading the charge out, but the Hoops' bench press - Noonan, Jack Byrne and Danny Mandroiu came on - made the difference. And they did unpick the Drogs lock 16 minutes from time when Byrne fed Danny Mandrou on the edge of the area and his first time pass slipped Greene in to coolly finish. The Drogs did push for an equaliser and Warren Davis headed over while Byrne came close to wrapping it up for Rovers with a curling effort. But the hosts were again aggrieved in injury time as goalkeeping coach Aaron Shanahan was sent off for his protests over a call going against the Drogs. Sun Star Man - Graham Burke (Shamrock Rovers) Drogheda United: Dennison 6; Cooper 7 (Harper-Bailey 71, 6), Keeley 7, Quinn 7; Cruise 6, Heeney 6, Farrell 7, Kane 7; Markey 5 (Brennan 56); James-Taylor 5 (Davis 65, 6), Oluwa 5. Shamrock Rovers: McGinty 7; Grace 7, Lopes 7, C O'Sullivan 7 (Byrne 65, 7); Honohan 7, Watts 7 (Noonan 65, 6), Healy 7, Clarke 7 (Grant 76, 6); Nugent 5 (Mandroiu 7, ht), Burke 7 (Cleary 79, 6), Greene 7. Referee: N Doyle (Dublin) 4.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Blackburn Rovers' stance on wildcard attacker after latest transfer rumour
Blackburn Rovers have made initial enquiries for Marwan Al Sahafi but a deal is not close, The Lancashire Telegraph can reveal. Rovers made their first signing of the summer transfer window this week after agreeing terms with Dion De Neve. The club are understood to have more irons in the fire as they look to press on with bolstering Valerien Ismael's squad. Advertisement As is usual with the transfer window, social media is rife with speculation and rumour. One name that has recently cropped up is Al Sahafi. The Saudi Arabian forward plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad and spent last season on loan at Belgian side Beerschot. READ MORE: Agent hints at Blackburn Rovers plan which could have transfer impact Suggestions that a deal to make the 21-year-old Rovers' next signing is wide of the mark. The exciting winger, who scored five times in 25 appearances last term, is currently away with the Saudi Arabia national team. He is one of many players on Rovers' recruitment list but nothing has gone further than an initial inquiry. As is standard with any player, clubs will often reach out to representatives to understand the situation and context surrounding any potential move. Advertisement Rovers are keen to ensure any young players that sign are ready to make an impact in the first team. With a clear focus on increasing the number of minutes afforded to Under-23 Academy players, they will not risk blocking pathways for any player who can't contribute. At 23, De Neve is viewed as a player who can be developed as he fits Ismael's style of play. The Rovers head coach demands wide players who have pace and athleticism, which De Neve has in abundance. The Belgian's physical statistics impressed Rovers and the club believe they can develop his other skillsets to make him an asset to the club. Whilst he may not be thrown straight into the starting XI, at a six-figure cost, they viewed it as a deal worth completing.
South Wales Guardian
08-06-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
I'm over the moon – Hull KR's homegrown hero Mikey Lewis celebrates Wembley win
Despite facing a kick that strayed out towards the right touchline, Lewis did not hesitate to boot the two points that ripped the trophy from Warrington's grasp, sealing an attritional 8-6 win and shattering a decades-long hoodoo for the Craven Park club. There is almost no-one for whom victory will have meant more than Lewis, who was born and brought up in the city and has brimmed with passion for the Robins since he came through the ranks, making his debut as an 18-year-old in 2019 and claiming the prestigious Super League Man of Steel award last year. Yet, despite his likely status as a potential match-winner, Lewis, elevated to kicking duties in the absence of Rovers' Cup-tied full-back Arthur Mourgue, revealed it was most definitely not a case of practice makes perfect. Looking dazed after the raucous celebrations that greeted the final hooter just moments after his kick sailed through the posts, Lewis said: 'I don't practice, so it was one of them where I trusted the process and, if I got a good strike on it, I knew it was over straight away. 'We said we can win this game in the 79th minute and that's what we did. I'm over the moon, proud. No-one can ever take this off me now – I'm a Challenge Cup winner and it will be with me for the rest of my life.' Yesterday was alright, wasn't it? 😍#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ — Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) June 8, 2025 Rovers had stood less than two minutes away from more final misery as Warrington entered the final stages with a four-point lead after a first-half try from Josh Thewlis and a superb performance from Marc Sneyd, whose mastery of the slippery conditions made him only the second player to win a third Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match. Lewis, who had kicked a two-point penalty to give his side an early lead, was not at his best as the Super League leaders struggled to make an impression before the dramatic finale which saw Tyrone May's kick missed by Warrington's Aaron Lindop and Tom Davies pounce to slap down the vital try which was awarded after a tense video review. Despite fully intending to bask in the glow of a long-awaited trophy, Lewis stressed the focus will soon shift to building on their breakthrough and finishing the season with more silverware, culminating in the Grand Final in October. 'I reckon it's going to feel like a bank holiday for the next week or so. We're going to enjoy this moment and then we'll go from there,' added Lewis, whose next engagement was a Sunday trophy parade with the rest of the Rovers players and staff from Craven Park to Hull's city hall. 'We thought it was our time. That was our theme – it's our time now and that's what it was. Hopefully that helps us a lot. We're just going to keep working hard, keep grounded and enjoy it.' Rovers' new era will begin in earnest when they return to Super League action against Catalans Dragons on Friday and captain Elliot Minchella believes the manner of his side's win, despite being second best for the majority of the final, will stand them in good stead. 'We will definitely take a lot of belief out of that,' said Minchella, one of six Rovers winners, including Lewis, who had featured in the matchday 17 for their Wembley defeat to Leigh in 2023. 'We didn't play anywhere near our best, but we found a way to win and the best sides tend to do that to themselves. We'll probably look back and learn loads of things from this match. We made it tough for ourselves, but our resilience, grit and toughness has never been questioned.' Warrington head coach Sam Burgess is also hoping for a boost after a performance in which his side made a mockery of their lowly eighth place in the Super League table. 'I think everyone can see what sort of team we are. Although our form in the league is not where it needs to be, everyone is aware of who we are and what we stand for as a group,' said Burgess. 'There's a lot of pain in there, but we'll take a really positive thing out of it. We have great belief and it'll give us the resolve and determination to attack the second half of the season.'
