McEneff embracing more European experiences

Glentoran midfielder Aaron McEneff is hoping to experience another exciting European campaign as his team take on RFS in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League at the BetMcLean Oval on Thursday evening.

McEneff has previous European experience having featured in the Conference League group stages with Shamrock Rovers a couple of years ago.

“I was fortunate enough to be part of the Shamrock Rovers squad which qualified for the Conference League group stages in 2022/23 and then the Europa League league phase in 2024/25,” McEneff said.

“We had some brilliant experiences along the way, including a hard-earned draw away to AEK Athens, while those campaigns gave everyone in the squad a huge amount of belief.

“I also played against AC Milan in a Europa League qualifier back in 2020. Unfortunately it was during Covid, so it was only a one-legged tie and we didn’t get the chance to play at the San Siro, but it was still an unbelievable night at Tallaght Stadium.

“They had a side packed with stars including the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sandro Tonali but they only beat us 2-0 on the night. Those memories will stay with me for a lifetime and now my aim is to make more memories playing for Glentoran.

“This is obviously only the first qualifying round but there’s a determination about the squad to try and keep our European run going as long as possible. Having sampled those big occasions with Rovers I know anything is possible in football.”

Glentoran’s opponents, RFS are only the second Latvian club to reach the group stage of a major UEFA competition, emulating Ventspils’ achievement in 2009/10.

They built on that success by qualifying for the UEFA Europa League league phase in 2024/25, where they recorded a memorable victory over Ajax, underlining the quality and experience they will bring.

Linfield will head to Estonia for their first leg tie this evening as they take on Nõmme Kalju FC. They sit third in their league table and are 12-points behind leaders Levadia.

David Healy’s men, who qualified for Europe through the end-of-season play-offs, will enjoy the home comforts in the reserve fixture next week at Windsor Park.

Bohemians will look to extend their winning streak St. Joseph’s at Dalymount Park in their UEFA Conference League Qualifying First Round.

Bohs, managed by Alan Reynolds sit second in the League of Ireland table and have picked up victories against Drogheda, St Patrick’s and Shelbourne in recent weeks.

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