Sligo Rovers are through to round 3 of Europa Conference League qualifying, following a 2-0 victory over Motherwell at the Showgrounds. Rovers had brought a 1-0 lead coming into the game, after defeating the Scottish Premier League side 1-0 away from home, thanks to a delicate Aidan Keena chip.
They took the lead at the Showgrounds after just four minutes, courtesy of a 30 yard screamer of a free kick from centre back Shane Blaney, before Max Mata made sure of the win on 91 minutes with a break away goal.
It a famous victory for Sligo, who went into the tie as comfortable underdogs, however it must be noted how disappointingly poor Motherwell have been over the two legs.
Sligo will now face Viking Stavanger in the third round of qualifying, which begins next week.
Sligo Rovers In Europe
An absolutely incredible free kick from Shane Blaney to double the @sligorovers lead on aggregate! 😱
A tough task is now even tougher for Motherwell 😬 pic.twitter.com/inVxiQJ0ld— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) July 28, 2022
The moment that sealed it 💫@sligorovers are into the 3rd round of European competition for the first time 🤯
What. A. Night. 👏
pic.twitter.com/lyRR2O4VQm— SSE Airtricity League (@SSEAirtricityLg) July 28, 2022
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READ MORE: Sligo Rovers Shock SPL Side Motherwell In ECL Qualifying
During the week Sligo Rovers boss John Russell responded to Scottish media reports following Motherwell's first leg loss, which labeled his side as 'minnows'.
“You’re always going to be labelled like that when you’re playing teams from the UK, they probably are reflecting on the league 15-20 years ago, it has come on leaps and bounds since then.
“It’s all fully professional, a lot of these teams are signing our players so it’s funny when you see the press come out with those comments. We can use that as motivation. We’ve had managers from the UK come over here and make comments as well about pub leagues and all this kind of stuff.
“We know what we’re doing here. Yes the league can get better, facilities can get better but the product that’s out on the pitch, whether it’s us, Shamrock Rovers or Derry, there’s top players, when you put them in the right settings, we look the part. And I thought we looked the part in Motherwell.”
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