Northern Irish and Welsh teams Larne and The New Saints became the first from their leagues to make the league phase of a European competition.
Whenever there is a big achievement, a club’s attacking talents are often at the centre of attention. That was evident when Larne and The New Saints became the first clubs from the NIFL Premiership and Cymru Premier respectively to make the league phase or equivalent of a European competition.
There was no chance of the headlines being about anybody other than Andy Ryan after his hat-trick took Larne past Lincoln Red Imps in the Conference League Play-Off round, while Brad Young had plenty of the limelight before his big move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Orobah.
Yet, Rohan Ferguson and Connor Roberts showed that goalkeepers can play an equally important role when it comes to making history. Not that it’s fully sunk in yet.
“Obviously, at the time, it was a great achievement,” Larne number one Ferguson tells Goalkeeper.com. “But I think that it was quickly forgotten about because we went onto the next game so soon.”
Roberts adds: “I think when we board the plane, when we train at the stadium the night before the actual game, I think that's when it will sink in.”
While reaching the league phase of the Conference League is an accomplishment that will be celebrated for years to come, both clubs exited the Champions League off the back of heavy defeats in which they conceded seven times over two legs.
For Larne, it was a 3-0 and 4-0 defeat in their opener against RFS, while TNS beat Decic but were defeated 5-0 at Ferencvaros before a slenderer 2-1 home defeat. “It's not very good conceding five goals, but when you look at the standard of the opposition, the crowd that was willing them on to just simply attack for 90 minutes, you've got to be realistic with those ones,” Roberts says.
Larne saw more to change. “There was probably a wee bit of naivety on everyone's part,” Ferguson says. “Going up to RFS, we tried to play a lot through the back and probably caused ourselves a lot of problems. The whole team spoke about it and it wasn't so much the defending that let us down, it was just more us trying to play and sometimes getting caught in possession.”
Their routes to creating history after that were very different. Despite being knocked out of the Europa League by Petrocub, Roberts only conceded once in four matches across the ties against the Moldovan side and Panevezys. That comes with the 31-year-old admitting “I haven’t had to make an extortionate amount [of saves].”
He continues: “There is a real belief in terms of how we can perform defensively. When we played Ferencvaros at home, I think the first goal was offside and then we conceded a penalty late on, so we managed to keep it relatively tight. Then the clean sheets obviously helped against the Moldovan side and the Lithuanian side that we played against. It definitely gives you confidence going into the league phase.”
Ferguson may have had the one clean sheet, but the 26-year-old certainly put in impressive performances. That started against Ballkani, who Larne were beaten 7-1 by last term, with Ferguson keeping a shutout in Tirana. The Scotsman played a key role in the “satisfying” win, as he recalls.
“I made a save with my foot. I think the time in the match, the magnitude of the match, I thought it was a really good save. We went on to win that game 1-0, but when you look back, if he scored at that point, things would have been very different.”
There was an even bigger role to play in the second leg, when he convincingly saved the first two of the three penalties he faced, with much of the work for those moments being done behind the scenes.
“We've got a guy at the club who does all the analysis, Rory Scott, he basically sent me over the videos,” Ferguson says. “I watched all the videos, it was basically anybody who took a penalty, how many penalties they took. So, I did a lot of preparation on it, and thankfully it paid off.”
Ferguson was then named Larne’s man of the match in their first-leg loss against Lincoln Red Imps, even if his focus was more on being “disappointed that we never won the match” in the immediate aftermath.
TNS and Roberts won their first leg against Panevezys 3-0, making a goalless draw at Park Hall more than enough for them to go through. “Against Decic in the first round, we had quite a big margin of three goals but the lads – myself included in that – were still a little bit nervy in terms of winning that first game,” he says.
“In the last game, everyone was far more relaxed, especially as the second tie was at home and we know we’re a decent outfit at home. Going into half an hour left, we probably knew that we would get through because we performed okay on the night as well.”
Larne’s first-leg loss meant there wasn’t the same serenity at Inver Park. They conceded in the 20th minute and had Chris Gallagher sent off, but Ryan completed a hat-trick in the 83rd minute to bring euphoria and European football to the Northern Irish club.
While so many were wrapped up in the occasion, the nature of Ferguson’s position meant he couldn’t afford to do so. “Obviously, we knew the rewards and how much the game meant to everyone at the club and what it meant to us as well,” he says. “Once the whistle goes, you kind of need to zone out away from that. I don't think you can think about it too much. I think that's when you start putting yourself under unwanted pressure.”
He adds: “Goalkeepers are only ever a mistake away from being the villain, so I don't think you can think about mistakes too much.” That very nature will play into the fact he shares “it was more relief than anything” when the final whistle went.
Larne had a packed schedule after facing Lincoln Red Imps, and the 26-year-old states that he was “absolutely fine” refocusing on domestic football after his club’s historic evening.
Things weren’t so simple for Roberts. “I don't mind saying I actually had a chat with my team doctor prior to the Flint game and I was literally saying ‘I'm struggling here.’ I've never felt that way before in terms of a lack of motivation, but it just seemed to have appeared that night,” he says.
“That's completely no disrespect to Flint at all, because I know the managers there and the assistant manager, they've been in European competition before, and I'm sure they've felt a similar way in their careers. But personally, it was actually really difficult, but I look at that as a positive now. You train your mind, you know that can't happen again.”
The mental work can prove particularly important now, especially as TNS’ first test in the league phase is Fiorentina, which could see Manchester United fan Roberts appear on the same pitch as David De Gea. His mind isn’t wandering to Stadio Artemio Franchi, though, as Roberts says: “It's completely flipped on the head, I'm up for every single game now in terms of how I feel.”
Even so, that is a tantalising proposition, as he adds: “There's a few people coming over to the game that normally wouldn't come to domestic games, so straight away, there's a special occasion there.” Larne’s first opposition is Molde, and Ferguson says that his preparation “won't be any different to what I usually do.”
While reaching the league phase and having those occasions would be special for anybody, there is an added significance considering TNS and Larne are the first from their respective leagues to make this stage.
“I am a proud Welshman, I loved my time in the [national] youth squads, and I did have a special moment going away with the seniors, which I'm very grateful for,” Roberts says. “I think that, as a Welshman, you do want to do your best for everyone involved. To be honest, it would be nice for people to recognise TNS in terms of their achievements for Welsh football as well.”
Being TNS’ Head of Academy Goalkeeping, Roberts has seen the positive impact this run has had on the youngsters, saying: “Hopefully the kids want to be in my shoes one day and that'd be a proud moment for myself.”
Ferguson adds: “You see the difference you can make to people's lives, which sometimes you don't see in football, but for us, we're about the town a lot and you can see that, which is a good feeling.”
The goalkeepers have also allowed themselves to reflect on their own personal routes to this point. Roberts shares: “Unfortunately, after I went away with the seniors, I literally couldn't find a club. You're talking from the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows. And that's how quickly it happens. One minute you're away at Amsterdam Arena, the next thing you're scraping around in September trying to find a club.”
He continues: “I do think you can look at that as a positive as well, you never want to be in that situation again, or how you've managed to battle on against that. You can only look at yourself and feel proud around yourself.”
Ferguson says: “I think a lot of people probably questioned if it was the best decision going to Larne at the start, and I just always had confidence that we would go on and do well. And I definitely did believe that we'd be the first team from Northern Ireland to get there. So, upon reflection, it was a good decision for me to come here and I'm glad to have been a part of it.”
He is also keen for Larne to make an impact now they are on this stage. “I think the kind of matches we've got, there are winnable games in there,” he says. “We'll take one game at a time, but I think there's a lot of points to be picked up. We'll set our sights high and hopefully we can try and make it into the play-off.”
Roberts is slightly more cautious in his response. “Just do yourself proud as best as you can. I have set myself some targets and some goals in terms of mentally and physically being prepared to play in every single game up until Christmas, which is going to be a jampacked schedule, but hopefully Craig [Harrison] knows he can rely on me in terms of I will be up for every game.
“Then as a club, again, you've got to be realistic. I'm not saying that we're going to go and win every game, and I certainly don't want to lose every game, but there is a couple of opportunities there where potentially we could pick up some points.”
While Ferguson and Roberts have completely different experiences on their way to doing it, both goalkeepers have played their part in history and have most certainly earned the Conference League football they will play this term.
