This Shamrock Rovers show of strength was driven by the brilliance of the evergreen Rory Gaffney, the 35-year-old Galwegian who started pre-season this year without a contract because of the wait-and-see approach following an ankle operation that was necessary to prolong his career.
Gaffney wasn’t even registered for last season’s memorable Conference League campaign but he is the main reason that the Hoops are now one tie away from a return to the league phase, albeit with the significant caveat that they will face Santa Clara from Portugal, the fifth best team in the seventh-ranked league in Europe.
Still, the manner of this second-leg demolition highlights yet again how Rovers can be a completely different proposition on home soil after toiling on their travels. The motivation going to the Azores next week will be to ensure there’s spice left in proceedings for the decider on August 28. And then you never know. Perhaps Santa Clara will make the mistake of underestimating a flame- haired veteran who followed up his recent brace against Derry City with goals either side of half-time that put Rovers in charge – much to the relief and delight of the 6,419 crowd.
A superb Josh Honohan strike and a tap-in from sub Burke completed a rout that didn’t necessarily look likely at the midway point of the first half.
The opening five minutes might have lulled the locals into a false sense of security.
Rovers started in the ascendency and when a Matt Healy shot was within inches of crossing the line, the reaction from the crowd was relatively muted, possibly because they were expecting more chances in the same vein to follow. It turned out to be the closest that Rovers came to a breakthrough until Gaffney’s opener just before the interval.
In the intervening period, there were a few scares, with Ballkani demonstrating an effectiveness on the counter that was visible in the first leg.
They clearly had set out with a tactic to frustrate Honohan – watched by Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson – after he caused them plenty of problems from left wing-back in Kosovo.
Geralb Smajli pressed up high from the right side to try and occupy Honohan. But the issues for Rovers came when Ballkani switched the ball quickly to the other side to create a couple of two-v-one scenarios that generated a bit of anxiety in the stands.
The real scare came out of a corner arising from a similar break when a clever routine allowed Marsel Ismajlgeci to size up a left-footer that he struck off the post with Ed McGinty planted.
This was a nervous passage for Bradley’s side that they navigated. What they needed was a bit more from the attacking midfielders in support of Gaffney, with Danny Mandroiu lacking discipline at this stage – almost too eager to make things happen – while new arrival Connor Malley looked a tad uncomfortable in an advanced role.
Gaffney was a shining light throughout, constantly running down the sides to keep orange shirts occupied and his close-range strike was a case of third time lucky.
He converted his first opportunity only for the offside flag to correctly cut short the celebrations. Then a slalom into the box was dramatically blocked at the death by Arber Potoku, who took the ill-advised decision to get in Gaffney’s face and taunt him afterwards.
The Tuam native remembered. When Mandroiu atoned for earlier errors by making an intelligent run to meet a Healy pass and drive goalwards, Gaffney was on hand to convert after Adnan Golubovic fumbled. He detoured to give Potoku a bit back.
And Potoku’s night would only deteriorate from there. After the restart, he was cleaned out by a colleague after misjudging a header, a catastrophic mix-up that allowed Malley to slip into the space and cut the ball back with Gaffney making the assist look better with a wraparound flick that found the bottom corner.
Potoku was making his way towards the bench after being subbed when Rovers made it three. A corner was pushed into the air by Golubovic, who couldn’t have anticipated that Honohan would send it flying straight back over his head and into the top corner with a precise volley.
That was game over, and Ballkani’s body language said as much. A fourth goal followed when panic in the visiting rearguard under pressure from sub Michael Noonan forced a backpass that Golubovic could only generously push into the path of Burke, who did the rest.
After that, Bradley had the luxury of resting legs, with Gaffney and Honohan among those to be called ashore in a demolition job which proved the manager’s argument that the Jack Byrne situation was not distracting his players. It’s all eyes on the Azores now.
Shamrock Rovers: McGinty, Cleary, Lopes, Grace; Grant, Watts (McGovern 71), Healy, Honohan (Matthews 71); Malley (Nugent 70), Mandroiu (Burke 63); Gaffney (Noonan 63)
Ballkani: Golubovic, Halili, Jashanica, Potoku (Hamidi 54); Smalji, Deliu, Ismajlgeci (Diene 69), Giovanni, Letaj; Adetunji (Serebe 67), Kryeziu
Referee: Mohammed Al-Emara (Finland)