Episode 40 of The Milltown Way — the independent Shamrock Rovers podcast. Ryan Brennan flies solo for the most loaded episode of the season so far. Three points at Sligo. A Rovers player on the world stage. Some transfer business is completed. And the Champions League is around the corner.

We start with Friday night's win at The Showgrounds. Rovers came from behind to win 2-1, and Graham Burke was outstanding. Fitzgerald was given acres of space to score at 13 minutes, Stevens was troubled by the long ball from the first whistle, and Rovers created almost nothing of note before half-time. The substitutions made a difference, but so did the red card at 52 minutes. We ask the uncomfortable question: would the second half have looked the same against eleven men? We also look at Michael Noonan's four missed chances, the Sobowale situation, and what the performance actually tells us ahead of Monday's European tie.

Then we turn to Roberto 'Pico' Lopes. On Friday night in Miami, a man from Crumlin, Dublin, spent 120 minutes marking Lionel Messi. Cape Verde fell behind three times against the reigning world champions and fought back twice before losing 3–2 to Argentina in extra time. We tell the full story, from the LinkedIn message written in Portuguese that Lopes ignored for nine months, thinking it was spam, to the moment his family watched on as he walked out at Hard Rock Stadium. We also ask what this actually means for the League of Ireland, and challenge the comfortable version of that story.

Transfer news: Jonathan Afolabi is strongly linked with a move to Tallaght — we assess the credibility of the link and push back on the easy narrative. Sean Murphy has signed from UCD, a smart developmental piece of business, but let's not overstate it. And Trevor Clarke moves to Dundalk on an 18-month deal; we give an honest account of where his Rovers career ended up and why that departure hurts less than the sentiment suggests.

We close with a full preview of Tuesday's Champions League first qualifying round first leg against Floriana in Malta. This includes something we suspect most previews will miss: Floriana's green and white colours date back to 1905, when the Royal Dublin Fusiliers were stationed in the town and played three friendlies against the club. Floriana changed their kit to match the Irish soldiers. Their official nickname to this day is 'Tal-Irish' — the Irish. When Rovers run out at Centenary Stadium, they'll be facing a club whose identity was literally built around an Irish connection. We also cover their European history, previous meetings with Irish clubs, the injury concerns for Rovers, what a successful first leg looks like, and why Rovers should be going to Malta to win — not to survive.

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