LEE GRACE would have bitten someone’s hand off for Shamrock Rovers’ Euro run — yet he still does not feel full after it ended.
The Hoops’ Conference League adventure was halted on Thursday night as they were eliminated in the play-off round on penalties by Molde.
But Rovers were still applauded off by their fans at Tallaght Stadium as they did a lap of honour following the greatest continental campaign by a League of Ireland club.
No Irish side had previously gone beyond the group stages but the Hoops were a kick away from reaching the last 16.
And they did so by beating a lot of good teams.
Vikingur and Celje — who Rovers toppled in the preliminary rounds — also advanced from the group stages, with Celje still in the competition.
So did APOEL, Banja Luka, and Rapid Vienna — who the Hoops took points off in the group stage last year — with the latter two in the last 16.
Grace pointed out: “You look at all the teams we played in the play-off rounds or first few rounds, every one of them made it to the group stages.
“They are not an easy calibre of team that you’re playing but when you’re playing them, people are saying, ‘Rovers should beat them’.
“You can see they are good teams and that’s why they are in the Conference League.
“If you asked any of us at the start of this campaign, you’d have bitten your hand off for this.
“It’s the first time an Irish club has gotten this far and we’ve had some special nights.
“The scoreline didn’t reflect it at Chelsea but they were big nights and we have to get back to winning games in the league to have them again.
“These are the reasons we play football, to be in big European competitions.
“We need to get back to winning in the league.
“Everyone is really hurting. Penalties are the worst way to lose and the best way to win, so it really hurts.
“You have to take the positives from it. They are a really good side with a big budget and you could say we should have gone through.
“You just have to forget about it come tomorrow morning because there is such a big turnaround.
“If you don’t, and you’re still thinking about this one going into Sunday, you’ll be beaten.
“We need to get going in the league.”
LEAGUE FOCUS
The Hoops play Cork City at Tallaght tomorrow looking for their first Premier Division points of the season after losing the Aviva Stadium opener against Bohemians.
And they have been boosted by the news that striker Rory Gaffney has re-signed for the club for 2025.
Grace wondered aloud how the Hoops are opening the campaign with four games in 11 days rather than being assisted in their pioneering efforts.
But he knows that winning the league to secure the ‘champions route’ in Europe again, which means you can still lose two ties and make it to the group stage, is the priority.
They do not have that this season as Shelbourne claimed the title last year with the Hoops needing to win four straight ties to secure the groups.
Grace added: “It’s not going to be easy this year as we have to win three or four rounds to get to where we are now. It will be a lot harder but we will look forward to the challenge.
“That’s our aim, get back to the champions route next year and we still have a European campaign to look forward to this year, it will be tougher to get to the group stage.”
MOLDE MISERY
But he still is frustrated that the Hoops are not going on now believing that, even with a starting XI missing seven regulars, they should have sent Molde packing.
He said: “I think we should have taken them even with the players we had missing.
“You are not in this squad if you’re not good enough.
“And the young fellas proved that on Thursday night. Victor Ozhianvuna came on at 16 and he looks like he has been playing for years. We can’t use injuries as an excuse.
“With a full squad you can bring in fresh legs, so maybe we could have.
“With the squad we had we should have gone through but it wasn’t to be.”
