Magic Euro night in Tallaght nets Rovers €3.1m windfall

Shamrock Rovers are going back to Thessaloniki 13 years after they became the first Irish team to make the group stages in European combat after Neil Farrugia and Dylan Watts stole the Tallaght show in equal measure.

A Watts penalty and a Farrugia thunderbolt late in the first half rewarded Rovers for their best 45 minutes of the season but Zan Karnicnik deservedly levelled for the visitors with seven minutes to go.

Extra-time and a Graham Burke goal prevailed, as did the Hoops. It means that Rovers are back in the group stages of European football – at least in the third-rung Conference League or even better the Europa League if they overcome the odds again and PAOK, who host the Hoops next week, in the final qualifying round.

The win guarantees Ireland's biggest club a minimum of €3.1m and likely more with revenue sharing and potential future results.

Having been so out of sorts for much of the year, the Hoops produced by a mile their best performance of the campaign and what will encourage their fans so much is that their squad depth was key to a memorable win.

This, truly, was well up there with the best nights in Tallaght since all those years ago under Michael O'Neill.

Farrugia is so central to an efficient Shamrock Rovers – more literally this season, as Stephen Bradley has of late used him through the middle – and he ran at Celje early but his shot lacked any strength.

The crowd was rocking and Aaron Greene had his shot deflected for a corner, Cjele dangerous on the counter from it – all within the first two minutes. And Farrugia's athleticism was woeful for Celje; on 13 minutes he could have had a go at goal but perhaps wisely looked for Greene – only for the latter to have made his run too early.

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