Debutant Noonan the hero in Rovers win at Molde
DEBUT GOAL: Shamrock Rovers' Michael Noonan celebrates after the winner for Shamrock Rovers. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Teenage kicks are showcasing the League of Ireland after 16-year-old Michael Noonan marked his debut by putting Shamrock Rovers to within touching distance of the Uefa Conference League last-16.
Mason Melia’s status as St Patrick’s Athletic’s rising star influenced Noonan’s decision to ditch the Saints for the Hoops in what was the marquee domestic transfer during the off-season.
Stephen Bradley kept his promise by thrusting the tyro straight into the fray for a match against a Molde side that had recorded an aggregate 5-0 pasting of the Hoops in 2022 group stages.
This occasion produced a better story and Noonan to the fore in writing the script. His purposeful run through the middle from a Rovers counterattack three minutes before the break drew a last-man mistimed challenge from defender Valdemar Lund that was correctly judged to be a professional foul.
A DEBUT GOAL IN EUROPE AGED 16 🤩
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Shamrock take the lead in Norway, and it's teenage debutant Michael Noonan who slides to stab home against 10-man Molde.
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That numerical advantage was capitalised upon when Dylan Watts dispossessed Norwegian international Mats Møller Dæhli as he dribbled back into his box. Noonan anticipated the opportunity to nip across his marker and first-time his flick into the net from a Watts square pass.
His poacher’s finish meant Noonan holds the record as the youngest-ever scorer in European club competition – clocked at youthful 16 years and 197 days. That’s 21 days younger than when Romelu Lukaku broke his duck in the Europa League.
The visitors almost pinched a second with four minutes left after Aaron Greene found space on the right side of the box but his low shot was turned around the post by Jacob Karlstrøm. Conversely, at the other, captain Pico Lopes was fortunate not to concede a penalty when the ball bounced off his arm in stoppage-time.
Away results have formed the backbone of this Hoops campaign, from drawing at Rapid Vienna, schooling Larne and now scalping a club with a vastly bigger budget.
Rovers had already grossed €6m in prize-money from this unprecedented European run for an Irish side. Now, a home result of even a draw next Thursday at Tallaght would catapult their earnings into a different stratosphere.
First up on Sunday they open their tilt at reclaiming the title by meeting Bohemians. The showcase game, switched to the national stadium, has shipped 25,00o tickets – five times the crowd inside the Aker Stadium.
More to follow...
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