Shamrock Rovers player ratings -v- Stjarnan

Shamrock Rovers' class of 2017 wrote themselves into the Hoops' history books as they became just the fifth side to win back-to-back games in Europe for the club. Last week Gary Shaw was the hero and this week it was Graham Burke, although the Hoops had star performers all over the pitch and merited the victory despite giving up more chances than they'd care to remember. Here's how we rated the Hoops players.

Tomer Chencinski: 9

The Canadian stopper didn't have an awful lot to do against a fairly blunt Stjarnan attack, but when he was called on he was imperious. A top-drawer double save from Hauksson and Haldorsson at 0-0 may just have been the winning of the tie for Rovers, while his reaction stop from Haldorsson in the second half was just as impressive.

Simon Madden: 7

The right-back is an experienced head in an inexperienced Rovers side and he led by example tonight, thundering into tackles and never giving an inch, while his attacking play very nearly yielded a goal for Trevor Clarke late in the first half.

David Webster: 6

Overshadowed by his defensive partner on the night, Webster was generally solid against the physical Icelandic attackers and headed everything that came his way, but had a few nervous moments that made things harder for himself than it needed to be.

Roberto Lopes: 8

There were a few sceptical glances thrown in the direction of Tallaght Stadium when the former Bohemians vice-captain made the switch across the Liffey but he's proven his class since making the move from midfield to centre-back, and even among a heftty crowd his voice could clearly be heard organising from the back.

Luke Byrne: 6

A generally solid outing for another former Bohemians man but his tendency to cut in, along with the occasional lack of help from Miele and Clarke, saw him leave a lot of room down the Icelandic right-hand side from which much of their better attacking play emerged.

Ryan Connolly: 6

A lengthy injury lay-off just as he was finding his feet at Rovers hasn't helped the midfielder who, on his day, is unplayable but can be guilty of taking too much out of the ball, which can prove costly at this level. His workrate never waned, however, as he won the ball back whenever he lost it, but Stephen Bradley will demand more of him.

Ronan Finn: 8

The best player on the pitch during the first half. The captain led by example, breaking up play, linking and creating, and generally looked a yard faster than anybody else on the pitch. Not so prominent in the second half when Rovers needed somebody to change the tempo and move the ball up the pitch, but was always on hand when his team needed him.

Trevor Clarke: 7

Only he knows how he managed to slide to the endline and turn the ball back for Graham Burke's goal when everybody else in the stadium was convinced it was going out and another promising move coming to nothing. His sheer pace is a force to be reckoned with and has skill to go with, but he'll demand more of an end product from himself as he continues to blossom.

Brandon Miele: 9

Poor Johann Laxdal will wake up screaming from nightmares about Miele's first-half performance, so uncomfortable did the Stjarnan right-back look against the in-form winger. He made a fool of Laxdal in the lead-up to the goal and showed eagerness to get back and help his full-backs, a selflessness he hasn't always displayed in his two-and-a-half years in Tallaght.

Graham Burke: 8

If Finn was the best player on the park in the first half, Burke was a very close second, as the former Aston Villa academy man impressed in front of a man whose path he crossed in Birmingham, Martin O'Neill. Burke never seems to be more than a few feet away from the ball and rarely loses it, but could perhaps do with spending more time in the final third where he can really hurt teams.

Gary Shaw: 7

Not the easiest night for the Newbridge man as Stjarnan defended deep and in numbers early on, while he was restricted to chasing lost causes for much of the second half, but he ran himself into the ground as per usual and created space for Miele and Clarke to cause havoc outside him, before running out of gas after the hour.

Substitutes:

Michael O'Connor: 6

Offers something different up front to Shaw despite sharing many of the same attributes and he made an impression in attack and defence for the 20 minutes or so he was on the pitch. His directness is disconcerting for defenders, but he'll rue a late one-on-one miss that could have wrapped things up a little sooner.

David McAllister: 6

Introduced for Burke 12 minutes from time as Stephen Bradley looked to tighten things up in the closing stages and added a little extra bite to the midfield as Rovers saw out the final minutes with relatively little trouble.

Aaron Bolger: N/A

Not on long enough to rate.

Manager

Stephen Bradley: 8

The Hoops boss will be concerned by the number of chances his team gave up either side of half time to a side who offered little creativity bar long throws and diagonal balls to the striker, but the Dubliner set his team up in the right way and they attacked intelligently from the off, and as they continue to gel as a group they'll create more chances, while a second straight clean sheet is a great result for a side who haven't kept too many in the league this season. Bradley is now unbeaten in his three European games as Rovers coach, winning two of them.

Who do you think stood out for the Hoops? Ler us know in the comments below or respond to us on Twitter @ExtratimeNews or on Facebook.