AT THE FINAL whistle Stephen Bradley led his Shamrock Rovers squad and staff over to the 1,600 travelling supporters savouring this famous 4-1 win in one of the upper tiers at Windsor Park.
Irish tricolours were draped over the edge as they celebrated with various songs.
A first victory in a group or league phase of European competition, the League of Ireland champions won this battle with Irish League rivals Larne in a style that highlighted a serious gulf in class and experience.
It was only two years ago that Rovers managed to pick up just two draws from the UEFA Conference League.
That was in a group format but the new league phase means four points from two games – with Welsh champions TNS coming to Tallaght Stadium on 7 November – has the Hoops in a strong position to earn one of the 16 play-off spots for qualification to the knockout stages in February.
A top-eight finish would be enough for progress directly to the round of 16 in March, and a buoyant Bradley was happy to dream.
“We’ve got to go and try to get as many [points] as possible. We don’t want to say seven and then we are stopped. If we can go and get 10, then let’s go and do it. 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. European football is tough, if you get it wrong on the night, you get beat.
“They punish mistakes but if you get it right, we’ve put ourselves in a really strong position so why limit our expectations on what we can do? We’ve never been a group to shy away from expectations and our standards and we don’t start now. We’ve put ourselves in a position to qualify automatically so let’s try and do it.
“We have given ourselves a chance now. We have to enjoy tonight, nights like this are special, coming to Windsor Park, champions against champions and you play like you do in the game and win it, they are special nights.”
While Rovers could yet continue this season into 2025 with a European run, domestically the campaign is reaching a thrilling conclusion.
Shelbourne, Derry City and St Patrick’s Athletic all play in the Premier Division tomorrow with Bradley taking his side to relegated Dundalk on Sunday evening.
Bradley could become the first manager to lead a team to five League of Ireland titles in a row – and Rovers the first club to achieve it – if they win their final two games and see others drop points.
“It’s no secret we had a lot of injuries early in the season which hurt us domestically, and we understand the reasons for that, and that won’t happen again, but I think if you look back throughout the years, this team comes alive in the second part of the season, this team comes alive,” Bradley said.
“Some teams shrink, some teams don’t like the pressure, this team relishes it, they thrive on it, they stick their chest out and they perform. And they have done that the last five years, and in the second part of the season they always go up gears and they are doing it again.”
The last time Rovers scored four goals in Europe was in September 1982 – a UEFA Cup tie with Fram of Iceland.
“This is why we play the game, put the hard work in. It’s a special European night. Four goals, it could have been more. You have to enjoy them. If you don’t what are you in the game for? Tomorrow the focus is on Dundalk. We’ll have a glass of wine when we go home and then we go again. This group moves on very quickly,” Bradley said.
Wine tonight but the champagne might well be on ice.
