Shamrock Rovers took on Molde in Norway on Thursday night, cementing themselves as the first League of Ireland side to qualify for the knockout stages of a UEFA club competition. After a surprising league phase, Rovers found themselves in territory nobody expected them to be in and now had the chance to prove that they belong. The unfortunate departure of starboy Johnny Kenny back to Celtic left Rovers with limited options for strikers. Manager Steven Bradley opted for their new signing: 16-year-old Michael Noonan. The TY student from Ardscoil Rathangan in Kildare joined Rovers in mid-January from St. Pat’s, aspiring to play European football for the club and did not disappoint.
Molde were the clear favourites going into this game and dominated possession in the first half. The first registered shot came after a lengthy twenty minutes, with an audacious bicycle attempt from Molde’s centre half. After that, the game really kicked off. Molde skewed multiple half chances, yet still controlled the game’s pace. Rover’s captain Pico Lopez was outstanding in the first, with countless last-ditch blocks and crunching tackles all over the pitch, and won every aerial battle.
Shortly before halftime, Rovers got into the game. They sought out midfielder Dylan Watts for a creative spark, and he did just that. Watts picked up the ball deep in his own half on the counterattack and played Noonan through on goal, only for Molde centre half Valdemar Lund to crease Noonan as the ball got away from him. Lund was sent off, and you could sense hope from the 200+ travelling Rovers supporters as the halftime whistle blew.
Five minutes after the restart, the deadlock was broken by none other than debutant Michael Noonan. After sloppy play from Molde’s left back, Dylan Watts swiped in and stole the ball in Molde’s box and played the ball across the 6-yard box for Noonan to tap home. This now grants Noonan the title of youngest goalscorer in UEFA club competition history, beating Romelu Lukaku’s record by twenty-one days. Unfortunately, Dylan Watts and Dan Cleary will miss the return fixture for Rovers on Thursday night in Tallaght after picking up bookings in the second half.
A few substitutions from Molde brought them more attacking threat and stronger stability at the back. Bradley decided to sit back and soak up the pressure, putting his boys in a 5-4-1 formation. Molde right-back Halldor Stenevik was brilliant for the Norwegian side all night long. Stenevik was a brick wall at the back and produced a few moments of magic for Molde going forward, definitely one to watch in the return leg. It was only in the final third that Molde fell apart; lazy passing and miscommunication killed any chance of an equaliser. The last ten minutes saw Molde completely run out of ideas, poorly crossing at every opportunity.
After five minutes of added time, the referee blew his whistle, and the Rovers team and supporters went ballistic. A 1-0 away win in their UEFA knockout stage debut was not something Steven Bradley and his backroom staff had on their bingo cards at the start of their campaign, yet Rovers keep exceeding expectations and demanding global respect for Irish football.
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