Shamrock Rovers face Molde in the Conference League, hoping to break the Norwegian club's perfect record against Irish teams. Molde's history includes victories over Sligo Rovers, Dundalk, and Shamrock Rovers in various European competitions.
Stephen Bradley’s side can fancy their chances in the Uefa Conference League against a Norwegian club whose former stars include Erling Haaland and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Unfortunately, when Molde returned to Ireland in 2020 they played before an empty house at Tallaght Stadium, beating Dundalk 2-1 in the Europa League group stage before winning the second leg 3-1.Whisper it quietly, but Simon Easterby is the perfect fit for Welsh rugbyOf greatest relevance is Molde’s most recent visit to Tallaght, in 2022, when they defeated Shamrock Rovers 2-0 in the Uefa Conference League, having already beaten the Hoops 3-0 at home.
But Molde had one trump card still to play. For obvious reasons the Uefa Youth League rule book strictly prohibits a club from fielding an older player but remains silent on using a younger one. And so after an hour the Norwegians introduced a 17-year-old prodigy who had broken into the Molde first team at 16, having made his senior debut for his home club Bryne at just 15.
Molde have been crowned Norwegian champions five times but have not won the Eliteserien since 2022, finishing fifth in the last two seasons. Erling Moe’s six-year spell as manager ended in December when he was sacked following a defeat on penalties to Fredrikstad in the Norwegian Cup final, a result that means that there will be no European football next season unless they actually win the Conference League.
Following Moe’s dismissal, Solskjaer turned down a third spell as Molde boss just months after being linked with the position of Republic of Ireland manager. Molde’s new manager is Per-Mathias Hogmo, who nearly became manager of Hearts in October. Hogmo is the first person to have managed both the men’s and women’s squads of a single country at international level, leading the Norwegian women’s team to Olympic gold in 2000.
Football UEFA Conference League Shamrock Rovers Molde Erling Haaland Ole Gunnar Solskjaer European Competitions
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