From maternity ward to matchwinner, Graham Burke the Rovers hero

Stephne Bradley described the 31-year-old as replicating the form which earned him three senior caps under Martin O’Neill in 2018.

Thu, 24 Oct, 2024 - 22:18

John Fallon

From the maternity ward to matchwinner, Graham Burke’s Europa Conference League phase so far has been varied.

The attacking maestro three weeks ago watched his Shamrock Rovers teammates eke out a draw against APOEL from the Rotunda Hospital, having been called in ahead of his partner’s delivery.

Baby Pippa arrived at 6.45pm but Burke still managed to catch the final stages of the 8pm kick-off at Tallaght, just in time for Dylan Watts’ equaliser.

Fast-forward to Windsor Park and the doting Dad was back on day job duty, spearheading a 4-1 hammering of Irish League champions Larne.

One of his two goals was reclassified as an own-goal but he still expanded his European tally to 10.

His manager Stephne Bradley afterwards described the 31-year-old as replicating the form which earned him three senior caps under Martin O’Neill in 2018.

“I was thinking if the baby came a little bit earlier, I could get up to the game,” Burke recalled.

“I got to watch it on the iPad - well, I couldn’t really watch much of it but I was trying to pay attention to it – and I saw the equaliser.”

A short trip away with his employers afforded Burke the opportunity of his first uninterrupted night’s sleep since his second child was born.

He certainly seemed fresh from the first whistle, teeing up the opener within three minutes and assisting two additional. He grabbed a sumptuous fourth early in the second half after Larne had pulled one back.

It ended a 10-match winless away run in Europe and marked Rovers’ first win in the group and league phase over 14 matches across three different campaigns.

“It’s difficult to score an away goal in Europe and getting three after a half hour showed showed we put in a top performance,” noted the former Aston Villa apprentice.

“There was a lot of space to get into pockets and cause them problems.

“We knew we could create overloads with Dan Cleary, Darragh Burns, Danny Mandroiu and myself down that side. We did that really well in the first half with our threat down the right and got our goals.”

Four points from six could become seven if Rovers overcome the Welsh champions New Saints - 2-0 winners of Astana - on November 7 at Tallaght.

They could have retained their league crown by then, against all odds, illustrating how they’re peaking at the right time.

“I’ve been in and out this season, sustaining two calf injuries to miss a bit.

“I was probably at the peak of my powers when I played for Ireland. It’s always difficult to get back there but you strive to get back there.

“Tonight was a bit like being back in 2018. You want to play like that all the time but it’s hard and it’s difficult because so many people are competing for my position. Luckily it went well for me against Larne.”