LOI In Europe 2021

[sbgawa]

Tough luck but we will have to duag ourselves down and go again

[paul_oshea]

Played well but thought second half they didn't do much . Lost it in Slovakia but much better. Header near the end could have gone in on another day

[ger121]

Win win there. Points for the aul co-efficient but Rovers don’t get to the next round :-p Very good performance all the same.

[Northsider]

Lovely stuff.

[joey B]

Only watched from just before Rovers second goal but they looked decent ,just didnt trouble the keeper enough.....

[CorribsideSteve]

Well, it must be said that Paul O'Shea is very quiet tonight... he must have been so fearful and worried after last week that he couldn't get out of bed.

He had just cause to be hiding behind his couch, as you seem to indicate. Rovers were unbelievably ordinary last week, and a classic example of every poor Euro defeat by an LOI side we've all seen down the years; sloppy loose play at both ends, and oceans of aimlessly hoofed away long balls, and eventual punishment for all of that.
With that context in mind, fair play to anyone on here, and indeed Rovers fans who felt this tie wasn't over, cause I couldn't see them doing anything tonight, and have been proven well wide of the mark.
Tonight was completely the opposite, and Rovers played with a freedom of knowing away goals didn't count, and all over the field made Slovan look really poor. Scales was immense, having Towell, Burke and Mandriou on at the start threw Slovan off, and all of them played excellently. What a goal from Towell, a cracker, and great memories made. Honestly I think Lopes just falls over awkwardly in the buildup to their goal, but it was unfortunate. The referee was Anthony Buttimer levels of all over the shop, however.
Hopefully this is just the beginning of a succesful Euro run for them, and they can take great confidence forward with them IF they play like they played tonight.

[Dalymountrower]

Missed the game unfortunately.
Good result and from the live ticker on RTE , sound like it could have gone 3-1 at the end.
2 out of two wins is a decent nights work for the league.

[Nesta99]

Just as well there's no away goals, eh?

It it weren't for the change of the backpass rule Joey Malone and Alan O'Neill would have won every game 0-0! Rules change, and id have loved away goals not to count when it suited!!

[sparky12345678]

crazy to think Lincoln Red Imps from Gibraltar will get to the next round, and have their chance to parachute to the Europa League and then the Conference...
Flora Talinn also got lucky.
Fair play to Rovers. You could see the 2-0 had rattled Bratislava and they woke up and strung things together to get their needed goal. Just a pity to come so close. 2 wins for the coefficient tonight. So up to Bohs and Sligo to do their bit. Hoping at least Bohs get through!

[yurt]

Have to say that I really enjoyed that game, Rovers were much improved and will see this as a missed opportunity.

Towell's strike was unbelievable. Fancied Rovers after that especially if it got to extra time but alas a player with the quality of Weiss ended up being the difference.

Its such a shame how different the pathway becomes after winning or losing this 1st round qualifier. If Rovers and get past whoever they draw in the 3rd round qualifier they will all but guarantee themselves seeding in this round next year should they win the league.

Looking forward to the Sligo and Bohs games now, hopefully we can pick up another couple of wins and keep as many teams in Europe for as long as possible.

[placid casual]

Champions league game refereed by a leinster senior league referee. Shambles of a human being. But enough about him.

Great battling performance by Rovers, albeit against a team who in all honesty looked half a€€ed at times.
Great leadership showed by Finner, and its no surprise that once Joey was back on the pitch we just look solid and composed. Towell, Mandriou and O'Neill worked hard in midfield and Gaffney was tireless up front.
Fully deserved victory for the Hoops and with that performance we can look forward to whoever we get in 3rd round of Europa conference. Just a shame it was ruined by officials who had little tor no control of the game.
Great atmosphere and noise by the 1,500 which was appreciated by the players it would seem.

[Charlie Darwin]

Really disappointing to go out on a decision like that after playing so well, but we had chance to force extra time still. If we play like that we shouldn't be afraid of anyone in the Conference League, but still going to be tough. Just a pity we don't have a trip to Switzerland to look forward to.

[yurt]

Really disappointing to go out on a decision like that after playing so well, but we had chance to force extra time still. If we play like that we shouldn't be afraid of anyone in the Conference League, but still going to be tough. Just a pity we don't have a trip to Switzerland to look forward to.

As someone more neutral I don't see the referee not giving the free to Lopes being that egregious of a decision. Maybe I need to see it again but there seemed to be very little contact and Lopes should have delt with it instead of trying to buy a cheap free kick.

[Charlie Darwin]

It was a fairly clear trip. Probably accidental but generally when someone trips you up you end up falling down.

[paul_oshea]

Well, it must be said that Paul O'Shea is very quiet tonight... he must have been so fearful and worried after last week that he couldn't get out of bed.

Just saw this When you've watched as many LOI teams in Europe as I have you learn not to get excited too prematurely ; )

[paul_oshea]

There's been a few games now with Rovers and Bradley where they've left it behind them for varying reasons but usually they've let themselves down in one of the legs. They should have enough experience in Europe now to be confident from minute 1 and play their own game.

[Charlie Darwin]

There's been a few games now with Rovers and Bradley where they've left it behind them for varying reasons but usually they've let themselves down in one of the legs. They should have enough experience in Europe now to be confident from minute 1 and play their own game.

The first leg was a bad performance, but I wouldn't go overboard. Slovan are a better side than Rovers, just like they were better than Dundalk a couple of years ago. You have to earn the right to play your own game against these teams - no LOI team is good enough to go out and dictate things.

[Nesta99]

The first leg was a bad performance, but I wouldn't go overboard. Slovan are a better side than Rovers, just like they were better than Dundalk a couple of years ago. You have to earn the right to play your own game against these teams - no current LOI team is good enough to go out and dictate things.

More accurate!

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, it's a good win, even if the aggregate result is a defeat. It's a positive to take into the Conference League tie.

I don't think I really buy this idea of "European experience" - it's just a game. And usually it's against a better side. You often lose games against better sides. It's up there with saying someone's ready for the step-up to international level - what step up?

[nigel-harps1954]

There's been a few games now with Rovers and Bradley where they've left it behind them for varying reasons but usually they've let themselves down in one of the legs. They should have enough experience in Europe now to be confident from minute 1 and play their own game.

They beat Slovan Bratislava 2-1, and only denied progression due to a controversial late goal. That's a Slovan side with almost 300 international caps in their squad and a central midfielder, and goalscorer, just home from the Euros.

I don't think they done too badly, all things considered.