Shamrock Rovers are ready to pick up the UEFA Conference League baton once again and continue their fairytale voyage into the unknown territory that is the knock-out stages of European competition.
Rovers are the first League of Ireland team to extend their European campaign beyond the end of the calendar year, and they now face Norwegian side Molde for a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Stephen Bradley's side’s pre-Christmas campaign in the league phase was so impressive that they remarkably just missed out on an automatic place in the next round, which would have come with a top-eight finish.
As it turned out, Rovers ended the six-match shoot-out with the same amount of points as eighth-place Cercle Brugge, but like Jagiellonia Bialystok and APOEL Nicosia, they ended up with an inferior goal difference to the Belgian side as Bradley’s team took tenth place in the 36-team league.
But it still sent the Hoops into the knockouts as one of the top-seeded sides and as a result they got drawn against the 23rd-ranked Molde who secured safe passage with seven points.
But Rovers won't have forgotten their 5-0 aggregate defeat to these opponents back in 2022.
Following a run of three home and three away games against different opposition, it’s back to the traditional European format of the two-legged tie as the sides meet for the first game in Molde tonight.
With both teams coming into the contest in pre-season mode, it will be interesting to see which of the sides have improved most since signing off in December.
The Norwegians, who have been a strong European presence over the last decade, had a poor league campaign and failed to challenge for the title, and as a result, they are coming into the 2025 season under new management.
Per-Mathias Hogmo has taken over as head coach having spent last year in Japan, while the 65-year-old has a lot of experience at both club level and with the Norwegian international set-up.
Hogmo worked with various underage Norway sides before enjoying considerable success with the women’s team, winning gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, after finishing fourth at the previous year’s World Cup.
The former Djurgarden and Tromso manager also spent three years in charge of the Norway men’s team before stepping down in 2016.
And Hogmo was bullish ahead of tonight's first leg, saying that he expected a fast game of football on the Aker Stadion’s artificial turf surface, while adding that he felt that the team can beat anyone at home.
An attempt to build confidence, perhaps, yet Molde were beaten by St Patrick’s Athletic in Spain earlier this month, albeit a pre-season friendly, while they did manage to beat Swedish side Hammarby at the weekend as they ramp up preparations for tonight’s game.
An attack-based approach is expected from the home side who will be keen to take an advantage to Tallaght next week, undoubtedly aware of Rovers' impressive home form in European competition.
Hogmo also expects Rovers to take a two-pronged approach to the game, playing in possession at times, while also happy to go direct to prove dangerous on the counterattack.
It was precisely these tactics that led to Rovers' European successes in 2024, however, for the Dublin side, it’s a case of wait and see, having lost some key players since the end of the season.
Most notably for the European games being Johnny Kenny, who provided the aforementioned pace for those dynamic counterattacks, while the departed Neil Farrugia also appeared to play at a different level during the continental clashes.
Experienced midfielder Markus Poom is also no longer donning the green and white hoops, signing out in style with an away goal against Chelsea in December, while Darragh Burns has also departed.
Matt Healy has signed for Rovers and is essentially a like-for-like midfield option for Poom, while young prospect Michael Noonan has also been added to the squad. Danny Grant and Adam Matthews are also new additions to the squad.
Rovers’ most high-profile arrival is in the form of goalkeeper Ed McGinty, who is likely to challenge Leon Pohls for the number one jersey straight away and it would be no surprise to see him between the sticks tonight.
Rory Gaffney is also close to regaining full fitness, and having missed out on so much football last season, the star of the 2023 league-winning campaign will be like a new signing for the manager.
Jack Byrne misses out tonight and is a few weeks away from full fitness having had an end-of-season procedure on a niggling knee injury, while Trevor Clarke is also ruled out through injury.
Darragh Nugent is also absent from the Hoops side tonight as the midfielder picked up a face fracture during pre-season and requires a mask to be moulded before he can return.
Otherwise, it is a full-strength Rovers side that will look to hit the ground running in Molde tonight, aiming to remain firmly in the tie to allow it to be decided in front of the home fans next week.
Of course, there is the prospect of facing arch rivals Bohemians at Aviva Stadium on Sunday to kick off the new league season, however, the focus will first be a return to the Hoops happy place of 2024, as they look to once again shine on the Conference League stage.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
