Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Shamrock Rovers' Daniel Mandroiu, Roberto Lopes and Daniel Cleary celebrate.Martin Seras Lima/INPHO Shamrock Rovers edge closer to qualification with impressive away win A first goal in Europe for Danny Grant and another by Danny Mandroiu sunk Santa Clara. 10.23pm, 21 Aug 2025 Share options UEFA Conference League – play-off qualifying round, first leg Santa Clara 1 Shamrock Rovers 2 A FIRST goal in Europe for Danny Grant and another skilfully taken strike from the influential Danny Mandroiu leaves Shamrock Rovers some 90 minutes away from back-to-back qualifications for the league phase of the Conference League after a controlled, tactically astute performance in the Azores. Stephen Bradley’s side did so by having to come from behind as they more than matched Santa Clara, who finished fifth in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season, in the 24-degree heat of the Estadio Sao Miguel in Ponta Delgada. It’s thus all set up for another rousing night at Tallaght Stadium ahead of next Thursday’s second leg when Rovers will hope to make the group/league phase in Europe for a third time in four years. In doing so, they would also become the first Irish side to reach that stage from outside the champions’ path. The prize is six matches in the 36-team league phase, and its guaranteed minimum €3.95 million prize fund. Rovers grossed €7.2 million from their run to the knockout round play-offs last February, losing on penalties to Norwegian side Molde. Santa Clara started six of the 17 Brazilians in their squad, including their lightning-quick number 10, Gabriel Silva, who scored twice in the defeat of Irish League side Larne in the previous round. Advertisement In Rovers’ only change from last week’s 4-0 win over Kosovars FC Ballkani, Darragh Nugent came into central midfield for the injured Connor Malley. Far from overawed by the conditions and their opponents, Rovers showed they could stretch Santa Clara with the pace of Grant on the right and bustling centre-forward play of in-form Rory Gaffney. But just as Rovers looked to have settled well into the game, Santa Clara took the lead on 20 minutes. Having just bravely blocked a drive from Mandroiu, Sidney Lima used the full width of the big pitch to pick out Paulo Victor hogging the touchline with a cross-field ball. Silva was found from the pullback to bring a terrific one-handed save by Ed McGinty. It proved to no avail, though, as the ball dropped for Vinicius Lopes to head to the net. A short VAR check confirmed the goal. Unbowed and enjoying 55% possession, Rovers passed the ball with ever more confidence as the half progressed. Mandroiu worried skipper Gabriel Batista between the Santa Clara posts when drilling a shot not far wide before Hoops were deservedly level two minutes before the break. The speed of thought and touch of Mandroiu played an integral part, with a clever return pass for the run of Grant. The winger skipped into the area to beat Batista with the help of a slight deflection off Rocha. Rovers survived a nervous moment four minutes into the second when Rocha poked the ball home from a Silva free kick, a VAR check confirming he was offside. Another VAR check for offside denied Rovers the lead at the other end on 57 minutes when Gaffney turned home from underneath the crossbar, skipper Roberto Lopes, on his milestone 50th appearance in Europe, having headed Dylan Watts’ free kick back across goal. But there was no need for any check for what proved to be Rovers’ winner on the night when it arrived after 66 minutes. Another Watts delivery from a free kick was headed into space in the area by the tenacious Josh Honohan. Mandroiu read it perfectly, taking a delightful first touch to burst between two defenders and confidently side-foot past Batista to the corner of the net. Santa Clara: Batista; Lima, Rocha, Nunes; Cabral (Pires, 62), Adriano, Serginho (Ferreira, 73), Paulo Victor (Pereira, 85); Lopes (Manoel, 73), Costa (Wendel Silva, 62), Gabriel Silva. Shamrock Rovers: McGinty; Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Grant, Watts (McEneff, 89), Healy, Nugent (Barrett, 90+4), Honohan, Mandroiu (Burke, 73); Gaffney (Noonan, 73) . Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria). Paul Buttner View 33 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Shamrock Rovers edge closer to qualification with impressive away win”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Shamrock Rovers edge closer to qualification with impressive away win”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion. Inappropriate language Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs. Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts. Please provide additional information Thank you for the feedback Your feedback has been sent to our team for review. Leave a commentcancel Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion League of Ireland Santa Clara Shamrock Rovers News in 60 seconds Freeas it stands Rory McIlroy makes encouraging start at Tour Championship Eze-less Crystal Palace prevail, Troy Parrott's brilliant form continues Shelbourne take control of Conference League destiny with 3-1 win over 10-man Linfield David Sneyd reports from Tolka Park FreeAs it happened Shels v Linfield, Santa Clara v Shamrock Rovers FreePastures new Leverkusen star joins Bournemouth in €29 million deal FreeSwimming Ireland's new world junior champion into another final on same day as Leaving Cert results Open letter signed by players calls on GAA to end sponsorship deal with Allianz FreeAs it happened Shels v Linfield, Santa Clara v Shamrock Rovers Replay ordered over incorrectly-awarded two-pointers in league final Open letter signed by players calls on GAA to end sponsorship deal with Allianz Time to say goodbye Former Australia scrum-half Will Genia announces retirement at 37 more from us Investigates Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine TG4 Entertainment Magazine Money Diaries The Journal TV Journal Media Advertise With Us About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2025 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie Report an error, omission or problem: Your Email (optional) Create Email Alert Create an email alert based on the current article Email Address One email every morning As soon as new articles come online Sign in or create a free account To continue reading create a free account Or sign into an existing account