Trim Hoops fans in dreamland after club's Europa League triumph
Shamrock Rovers will be guaranteed a huge groundswell of support following their Europa League exploits in Belgrade last Thursday night. The fanatical following includes a branch of the Trim Hoops Supporters' Club who have already made trips to Estonia and Denmark during July and August and have already booked their tickets for a trip to White Hart Lane at the end of this month after the team qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League. The Trim crew include such notable soccer enthusiasts as brothers Mark and Eric Scanlon, David Conway, Ciaran Quinn, Barry O'Callaghan, Philip Power, Andy Reilly and there's even one female, Denise Quinn, as well as a Dublin native now living in Trim, Tommy Tighe. Following their elimination from the Champions League by FC Copenhagen, Shamrock Rovers were parachuted into the final play-off round of the Europa League where they were handed the somewhat formidable task of facing Partizan Belgrade. This provided the club's supporters with yet another costly trip after forays to Estonia, where Rovers spread FC Flora fairly thin, before that game against Partizan. The first leg in Tallaght ended 1-1 and last week's second leg produced that by now famous victory in far-off Serbia that was a milestone for domestic soccer as it is the first time that a League of Ireland club has qualified for the group phase of a European competition. "I was at the games in Estonia and Denmark against Flora and Copenhagen, but it just wasn't possible to make the trip to Belgrade," Mark Scanlon said. "I suppose there was one consolation, I have a banner that I bring to all the games and that was in Belgrade, I saw it when we were watching the game. "We were all watching the action in Trim, via the internet, and we were able to enjoy the action. It wasn't as good as if we had been there, but it was mad, none of us could believe it. "We all went to the airport on Friday night to welcome the team home and it's great to see an Irish team featuring in the media now instead of all the English teams. "The draw for the group stages was fantastic, there should be huge support for us at the game against Spurs, the Irish in London will probably turn out for that game and we might have three points in the bag at that stage," he enthused. There are a few other Hoops fans dotted around the Royal County as well, with Oldcastle-based garda, Gerry O'Shea and Ashbourne native Paul O'Connell among the ranks. Shamrock Rovers have been drawn in Group A of the Europa League alongside Tottenham, Rubin Kazan (Russia) and PAOK Salonika (Greece).