Match Preview: Shamrock Rovers vs KF Teuta Durres - August 5th
UEFA Europa Conference League 3rd Qualifying Round 1st Leg
Shamrock Rovers vs KF Teuta Durres
Tallaght Stadium - 8pm
Thursday, August 5th
Rovers return to European action this Thursday night as Stephen Bradley's side continue their European adventure with the visit of Albanian side KF Teuta Durres to Tallaght.
Just over 1,300 home fans will be attendance in the D24 venue as Rovers look to continue their fine home European record under Stephen Bradley, with the Hoops unbeaten in four of their last 5 European games in Tallaght (the exception being a respectable 2-0 loss to Italian giants AC Milan last September).
Shamrock Rovers come into this third qualifying round after receiving a bye in the second qualifying round. The Hoops dropped down from the Champions League, after a 3-2 aggregate loss to Slovakian side SK Slovan Bratislava last month in the UEFA Champions League 1st Qualifying Round. Rovers, disappointingly, lost their first leg tie 2-0, before a Richie Towell inspired performance helped the Hoops defeat Slovan 2-1 in Tallaght just three weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Thursday's visitors KF Teuta also had a similar European adventure as Shamrock Rovers this season. Teuta entered in at the Champions League 1st Qualifying Round stage, but were defeated by Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol 5-0. They then came up against Andorran side Inter Escaldes in the Europa Conference League 2nd Qualifying Round, and came through to the third round on an aggregate score of 3-2.
Speaking to shamrockrovers.ie today, Stephen Bradley spoke about what he expects of the Albanian champions:
“We’ve learned that they’re a very dangerous team going forward. We’ve watched a lot of their games; the players have seen a lot of them now and we know that they’re dangerous. They have some really good technical players in the attacking part of the pitch. A lot of movement, a lot of rotations and some high-quality players. So, we know a lot about them, we know it’s going to be a difficult tie but it’s one we’re really looking forward to and we’re ready for. "
Thursday's game will be officiated by a team of Norwegian officials. Kai Erik Steen will be the man in the middle, with the linesman duo of Jan Erik Engan & Anders Olva Dale. Kristoffer Hagenes is the fourth official.
TEAM NEWS:
Stephen Bradley has confirmed that Graham Burke has returned to training this week - after missing last Friday's 3-1 win over Dublin rivals St. Patrick's Athletic - and should be involved against KF Teuta. Rovers remain without the injured duo of Neil Farrugia & Chris McCann, who are both continuing to recover from respective hamstring injuries.
LIVE-MATCH COVERAGE:
Twitter: You can keep up-to-date with all the match action, as well as pre-match & post-match news, over on the official club Twitter account (@ShamrockRovers). Unfortunately, there will be no live-match updates on Tipperary Hoops (@TipperaryHoops) as we are lucky enough to be attending the game.
LOITV.IE: You can watch the game live on loitv.ie for just €10 this Thursday. This game is not included in your supporters subscription package so it costs €10 for all fans to view the game. Click the following link to purchase the match pass: https://www.loitv.ie/en-int/playerpage/811941.
Audio Described Commentary: Fans can also listen to the action, thanks to the audio described commentary service the club provides for every game. To listen to this free service, click the following link from 7:45pm to keep up to date with the game: tinyurl.com/radiorovers.