
Last night was a night to savour for Irish football, as two of their own made significant strides towards on the continental stage.
Stephen Bradley’s Shamrock Rovers marched on in Europe yesterday, bringing the country’s football faithful to its feet. The Johan Cryuff Arena also produced a dramatic encounter, as Ajax beat Panathinaikos 14-13 on penalties.
Braga, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Molde, and Rapid Wien all progressed onto the Europa League playoff rounds along with Rovers and Ajax. Below, you will get a review of the third round of the Europa League qualifying.
UEL – Featured Match – Shamrock Rovers 3 (3) – (2) 1 NK Celjie

Last night, the Super Hoops delivered a thrilling performance in Europe, emerging as 3-2 aggregate victors over NK Celje. Rovers were well aware of the significance of the match before stepping onto the field, as it had the potential to secure crucial funds for the club. A victory by a margin of two goals or more would guarantee them a spot in the League Phase of the competition for the second time since its introduction.
Their Slovenian counterparts held a 1-0 lead heading into the encounter at Tallaght, so a massive performance was needed. The early exchanges were dominated by Rovers, as the home side looked to maintain playing on the front foot. Celjie, even when left alone, misplaced many of their passes out of play as the Slovenian couldn’t get a foothold in the game.
Despite Rovers dominance, no clear-cut chances were produced after 25 minutes on the clock. The sides then exchanged phases of possession before a game-changing decision was made on 37 minutes. After consultation with VAR, a penalty was awarded for Rovers as Aaron Greene was elbowed in the head by the Celje keeper.
The penalty was dispatched brilliantly by Dylan Watts, and Rovers had their valuable goal which tied the aggregate score. The Super Hoops continued to put the opposing defence under pressure, with the well-run press being orchestrated by Aaron Green.
With 41 minutes of the clock, star boy Neil Farrugia picked up the ball 25 yards from goal, drove towards the penalty area and rifled the ball from outside the box into the bottom right corner, sending the Tallaght faithful into raptures.
At half time, the Hoops led 2-0 on the night, putting them 2-1 up on aggregate.
Two massive chances fell the way of the home side at the start of the second period, both drawing excellent saves from the opposition goalkeeper. As the Rovers press started to peter out, Celje started to gain dominance of the ball and produce chances.
Bradley brought on Cleary and Towell to try and hold out, as bodies were flying left, right and centre to prevent the Celje equaliser. However, the away side did level with seven minutes to go as a lofted ball to the far post was volleyed in by Karnicnik.
The Slovenian side were in the driving seat heading into extra time, and Rovers needed to freshen up if they were going to secure a famous victory.
Early in extra time, super sub Graham Burke drilled the ball under the Celje goalkeeper from the edge of the area, securing a vital goal. Tallaght was bouncing, and the loud Rovers faithful were doing their bit to get the team over the line. As the clock hit 125, the referee blew his whistle, kickstarting celebrations for Shamrock Rovers, as they prevailed 3-2 aggregate winners.
The victory means that Rovers are back in the group stages of European football – at least in the Conference League or even better the Europa League if they overcome the odds again and beat PAOK.
Football right up to Christmas is assured for the green and white, and focus now turns to their away trip to PAOK next week.
Other Europa League Results
Aggregate scores shown only below
Ajax 1-1 Panathinaikos – Ajax win 14-13 on penalties = Despite facing a loss at home in the second leg, Ajax were able to advance to the playoff round. Panathinaikos put up a strong fight, pushing the match into extra time. However, their hard work didn’t pay off as they lost in a 14-13 penalty shootout to the Dutch team.
Lincoln Red Imps 2-3 Dinamo Minsk = The Red Imps suffered defeat in this tie despite winning in the second leg, as their Belarusian counterparts progressed.
Rapid Wien 3-0 Trabzonspor = After a 1-0 away win in Turkey, Rapid finished the job last night in Austria, with a 2-0 triumph over Trabzonspor.
Elfsborg 3-1 Rijeka = Following a draw in Croatia, Elfsborg netted two goals without reply in the second leg, seeing them progress onto the next stage.
Viktoria Plzen 3-1 Kryvbas = After a 2-1 away win in Ukraine, Plzen finished off their opponents in Poland courtesy of a 1-0 win.
Cercle Brugge 1-3 Molde = Despite a fight back in the return leg in Belgium, Molde proved to be too strong of an opponent for Cercle Brugge.
Lugano 3-2 Partizan – AET = The Serbian and Swiss sides were still tied after 180 minutes of football, but in the extra 30 added on, Lugano prevailed and knocked out their Serb opponents.
Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-1 Panevezys = Tel Aviv met expectations in their tie against minnows Panevezys, as the Israeli side comfortably progressed 5-1.
Servette 1-2 Braga = The second Swiss side to take part in this stage is Servette, but unlike Lugano, they failed to go through after being narrowly beaten 2-1 by Braga.
Banja Luka 4-3 Klaksvik – AET = Faroese side Klaksvik gave it their all in this tie, but after 210 minutes of football, they fell just short, losing 4-3 on aggregate to their Bosnian opponents.
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