Uefa Conference League: Shamrock Rovers 3 (Burke 14, Grant 45+4, McGovern 90+3) Hamrun Spartans 1 (Koffi 20)
Shamrock Rovers knew that victory here would be too little, too late to extend their stay in Europe but Stephen Bradley wanted to pull the shutters down on an exhausting year by finishing with a little pep in the step.
Graham Burke and Danny Grant saw to that, providing the first-half ammunition to take down the Maltese champions Hamrun Spartans - who played for over 65 minutes with 10 men - before substitute John McGovern added the gloss at the death to secure Uefa’s €400,000 prize pot on the night.
Considering this was their only win of the league phase, Rovers have not scaled the heights they wanted to on this particular Conference League run but the end of the road brings with it time to reflect on a domestic show of strength having secured a first league and cup double in 38 years.
Not that Bradley intends standing still between now and the imminent return to preseason training, judging by his programme notes where he claimed his team has not always got the respect he feels they deserve for their achievements in recent years.
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“I was recently reminded of how much we are still punching above our weight when the AEK Athens sporting director asked me how much the prize money was for winning the League of Ireland,” he wrote.
“When I told him it was €150,000 he laughed and said AEK Athens spent more on their Christmas party. When he then learned League of Ireland clubs received no income from TV revenue, he couldn’t understand how we or the league survived, let alone compete in the league phase of European competition.”
Already targeting next season, Bradley added: “We can’t become comfortable and I really detest the word.”
Rovers are busy identifying targets for their Christmas shopping list as they will venture into 2026 without their Republic of Ireland squad man Josh Honohan, whose move to Lincoln City in January was confirmed by both clubs ahead of kickoff.
This was the Hoops 55th game of yet another extended season and they were keen to sign off by treating their fans to a belated first win in the league phase and set about their business early with Rory Gaffney drawing a smart save from Henry Bonello.
Burke had teed him up but then stepped up himself soon after to open the scoring from the spot and equal David McMillan’s 14-goal record for a League of Ireland scorer in Europe. Vincenzo Polito handled Dylan Watts’ shot in the box and Burke sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
That 14th-minute strike ought to have provided the Hoops with a platform from which to build, but they did the opposite by coughing up a soft equaliser six minutes later after failing more than once to clear the danger in their own box.
Spartans were always willing to have a go and did so with purpose once too often for Bradley’s liking, with the frustrated Rovers manager twice turning his back on the play with arms flailing after the visitors picked holes in his team’s soft cover.
None more so than for that equaliser as Spartans queued up in the box. First, Mouad El Fanis saw a shot blocked by Pico Lopes before Ed McGinty batted Saliou Thioune’s follow-up away, but only as far as N’Dri Philippe Koffi who slashed home from six yards.
Still, it was short-lived joy for the visitors as their hopes of pocketing a result unravelled when their 71-time capped Malta international Joseph Mbong was sent off for a challenge on recent Arsenal recruit Victor Ozhianvuna after 26 minutes.
Mbong protested the Czech referee’s decision but the VAR check didn’t come to his rescue either and he walked for raking his studs down the teenage playmaker’s shin when contesting a ball that he had coughed up in the first place.
Ozhianvuna bounced back to play his part in restoring the Hoops lead in first-half injury time, setting Adam Matthews for a cross into the box that Rory Gaffney headed at goal, only for Bonello to make a fingertip save at full stretch. Burke mopped up the second ball and put it on a plate for Grant to tap home from two yards.
Rovers upped the ante thereafter and could have been out of sight midway through the second half, with Gaffney and Burke both well positioned but unable to capitalise on a slew of chances before McGovern made his mark with the third in injury-time.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: McGinty; Cleary (Kovalevskis 60), Lopes, O’Sullivan; Matthews, Watts (Malley 72), Healy, Ozhianvuna (Greene 78), Grant; Gaffney (Kavanagh 78), Burke (McGovern 72).
HAMRUN SPARTANS: Bonello; Compri, Emerson, Polito, Micallef (Simkus 77); Mbong, Koffi (Eder 61), Garcia (Cadjenovic 45), Bjelicic, El Fanis (Coric 77); Thioune (Meijer 45)
Referee: M Radina (Czechia)
