QuoteDidnt Johnny Ward say something like they wouldn’t even finish in the top half of the LOI. LolOriginally Posted by ger121
Yep Rovers have worked the keeper at least once. Keeper made a great save from Honohan at the end to secure the win.
Ref was a total homer too. Balkani players were hacking Rovers players down on numerous occasions and avoiding cards. Some of the stuff they were getting away with was insane.
Didnt Johnny Ward say something like they wouldn’t even finish in the top half of the LOI. Lol
For a LOI man, Johnny Ward knows very little about the LOI, nevermind teams from other leagues.
He’s awful on commentary. Not sure how he keeps getting the gig. They must be desperate.
On a similar note, the camera operator in Kosovo must never have heard of the zoom function. I could barely make out the ball when it was on the far side of the pitch - farcical production standards.
I’m happy we put in a performance in the second half. The team showed a lot of fight against a top class opposition.
The stats are nonsense. I etched the Rovers match on loi tv. Had several shots and keeper made at least 3 decent saves , two great saves from honahan and that's just what I can remember off the top of my head
Dire from Rovers, against a very, very ordinary side. It's one thing getting beaten by a team above your level but Rovers has the mindset of get a nil all draw away no matter who they faced. Completely out muscled in midfield and played into the oppositions hands time and time again.
Bradley needs to accept he set up the team wrong. No Burke or Byrne to cause them problems.
Ref was beyond a farce,he was frankly LOI standard he was that bad.
Work to do next week for sure.
Based on what I've seen of a few Kosovar teams this year and last, I think SR will dominate the home game and win through.
UEFA’s tracking did seem off in that game.
It did seem he was trying to repeat the formula that worked away before. Also missing some big players did not help either when you are chasing a game. Rovers at home are a different animal.
A good night for your teams.
Thats it exactly. I feared 7s and 8s by full time during the first half but the second half change in shape worked wonders and Melia really should’ve scored to make it 4-2 in the end, a good second half performance from all, with the large caveat that the game was obviously over at that stage. Now then, all we need to do is convince UEFA that winning a quarter of the tie is worth a few coefficient points and a bit of spare change from the aul prize money pot
Paaatrick's Agletic
Not bad so far in this 3rd round. Breidablik managed a draw against a very fancied Croat team in Bosnia, one that had defeated them 6-2 some 2 years ago. 'Blik for the first time ever that I have seen put 5 in defence, in contrast to the manic enthralling Shels game this one was as exciting as an IKEA wall picture, the reporter covering the game for local media wrote "good result but thank god for coffee".
Vikingur R. have Gylfi Sigurdsson on their books this year and even at 35 years he's their outstanding player, ran the midfield. Not only did the Danish press go into meltdown afterwards at the humiliation of the 3 nil defeat but 200 Brondby fans at the game totally disgraced themselves and their club. They caused about Eur 35k worth of damage. A small police unit managed to pepper spray them out of the grounds. What sky kissing arrogance from those "fans" of a full time pro league club, to travel to a fellow (but tiny) Nordic nation, to a members owned semi pro club and act in such a primitive brainless thuggish manner just because their team were played off the park.
The top teams in Turkey are light years ahead of anything in Ireland when it comes to resources, finances, professionalism etc. Pats fans going to the game next week will see a phenomenal stadium - for what is still only the third-biggest club in Istanbul !
There is then quite a sizeable drop off after the top 3 (Galatasary, Fenerbache and Besiktas) to the rest of the Turkish league. In some ways not disimilar to the situation in Scotland. But in other ways even worse than it is there. For example - some of the teams in the Super Lig get fairly shocking attendances. Eg. Eyupsor in Istanbul finished 6th last season and just missed out on Europe by 1 point. They ground share with Kasimpasa, and crowds at some of their games would literally be counted in the hundreds. That's for the 6th best team in Europe's most populous country (fcuk Russia), based in a huge city.
Last edited by EatYerGreens; 08/08/2025 at 1:27 AM.
Harsh that, a bit unlucky not to get a draw in the end I felt, although Bradley is ultra cautious .
I thought Rovers did ok, Pico Lopes absolutely woeful for the goal,. rushing out and leaving a huge gap in behind, but aside from having to weather a small storm after that, Rovers looked comfortable enough and almost got an equalizer, would be hopeful they can take these boys next week
I was factoring in the opposition,and the fact that they had 2 glorious chances to put the tie to bed.
Rovers weren't good enough, partially because the set up was wrong by Bradley and also because Watts and Healy were very meek in midfield and we had no threat going forward.
I'm hopeful rather than confident of next week but it needs Burke back from Injury to make the difference imo.
Shamrock Rovers- Where trophies are won and envy is scarce
When you can’t put Burke and Byrne on the pitch for any minutes in a European game, you are not going to be as creative or dangerous in the final third. When you couple that with Bradley being ultra conservative away from home, the best result was probably going to be 0-0 or a 1-0 loss.
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