Bradley salutes Rovers' 'unplayable' Euro hero Gaffney

Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley hailed Rory Gaffney after the veteran striker hit the first two goals in a 4-0 comeback win over Ballkani that sent his side into the Conference League play-offs.

The League of Ireland leaders came into Thursday night's tie trailing from the first leg in Kosovo but strikes from the 35-year-old either side of the interval, the second a stunning back-heel, helped them ease to a 4-1 aggregate win and into the last qualifying round, where they will face Portugal’s Santa Clara.

"Delighted," Bradley told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue. "We knew we had to go and perform better than last week, and we did that. I thought we were outstanding tonight.

"He has been incredible all year, Rory. I said yesterday that Rory, Matt Healy, Graham Burke and Dawson Devoy are the four best players in the country this year. To say that about Rory, considering he missed all of last year [through injury] and we didn't even know if he'd play again this year is incredible.

"He had contract offers to go elsewhere and secure a future for his family. He said 'No, I want to come back here. I want to play, I want to show you.' And that's Rory. He's been unplayable.

"He's managing his body really well. We’re managing his load. He's doing that really, really well and when he's in that form he's unplayable. We've seen it against Derry and you see it again tonight.

"The one before half-time, the timing was brilliant. They go in and they had to alter thing, and we were nice and calm. We knew we were in the driving seat. We had momentum.

"[The second] was incredible. When you watch it back, there was nowhere else for the ball to go. Only there. And it probably sums up his performance. Everything he did was brilliant and back-heels or whatever he does into the bottom corner. Brilliant finish."

Bradley also praised Josh Honohan, who received an Ireland call-up in June, after his stunning volley effectively clinched the tie.

"Over two legs, Josh has been our best player," said the manager. "I thought tonight he gave the right-back a torrid time.

"The finish was top-class, but his overall performance, he showed why I think he can play at the elite level. He was different class."

What a hit! 🤯☄️

Josh Honohan with an absolute peach of a strike to put @ShamrockRovers well on their way to a place in the UEFA Conference League Play-Off round 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Z2LCFy4TGb — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) August 14, 2025

Galway man Gaffney, who joined Rovers in 2020, and turns 36 in October, admitted he was considering retirement ahead of ankle surgery late last year.

"I didn't want another year like I had last year, where you're breaking down and you're kind of dragging it on," he said. "If I couldn't get fit, I was happy to call it a day.

"I was having the operation, I was going to do the rehab, because you have to do it anyway to get your body back. And I thought 'If I can get back to the level to play professional football, I want that’.

"I don't really play past the hour, 70 minutes, now but if you can give 60, 70 good minutes, there are plenty of strikers there and plenty of energy on the bench, the fresh legs. So I'm happy to pass the baton on.

"We’ll really be looking forward to having a crack off Santa Clara next week."

"They're going to be a step up. They've got 17 Brazilians in the squad."

Santa Clara hail from the Azores Islands in the mid-Atlantic and are currently 16th in the Portuguese top flight, having finished fifth last season.

They held Northern Ireland’s Larne scoreless last night to advance comfortably on a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.

The Hoops will be away in the first leg, on Thursday 21 August, and their manager says it’s all about staying in the tie ahead of the return fixture in Tallaght.

"You’ve got to make sure you’re in the game," said Bradley. "They're going to be a step up. They've got 17 Brazilians in the squad. They're a proper team. We know that.

"But if we can take it back to Tallaght alive, you see what we can do. We're more than a match for anyone here.

"European nights in Tallaght are different. They're special, the energy's different. We asked the fans to come out. They came out, they gave us the energy, the players responded, gave them the performance, a massive thank you to them."

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