'I love your country – especially Michael Flatley': Slovan react to great escape against Shamrock Rovers

Slovan Bratislava Vladimír Weiss, son of the manager with the same name, celebrates after scoring against Shamrock Rovers on Tuesday night. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Michael Flatley fan Vladimir Weiss admitted his Slovan Bratislava side were lucky to survive their Champions League test against Shamrock Rovers on Tuesday but he wasn’t agreeing with his counterpart over the tie’s turning point.

The manager’s son – also named Vladimir Weiss – punctured the positive vibe around Tallaght Stadium from Rovers bringing the tie level by sinking the decisive goal.

The Slovakian champions progressed 3-2 on aggregate to meet Young Boys of Bern in the third round of Europe’s premier competition while the Hoops enter the same stage of the Europa Conference League as their consolation prize.

While Stephen Bradley blamed Croatian referee Mario Zebec for not failing to penalise Rafael Ratão when he tangled with Roberto Lopes in the run-up to the 72nd winner, Weiss didn’t notice any infringement.

Replays of the incident proved that contact was minimal, with none of the home players appealing for a whistle.

“We were lucky,” confessed Weiss senior. “Shamrock played fantastically well, aggressive with confidence, character and a lot of patience.

“We only played well for 20 minutes of the second half, scoring a wonderful goal from Vlad, so going to the next round is more important than the performance.”

The Rovers win on the night ensured Weiss retains a record of just one win – the 2-0 first leg victory over Rovers – in eight matches against Irish teams. He had two draws as Slovakia boss, as well as another two and a pair of defeats while managing Georgia.

“I love your country – but especially Michael Flately,” he said of the world-famous dancer and musician. “He's amazing, my favourite artist in the world.

“And I wish Shamrock Rovers all the best in the Europa League. On their showings against us, they have a chance of getting through to the next round.”

Rovers will find out their opponents in next week's draw.