Bohemians manager Pete Mahon is set to name an unchanged side for tomorrow's Champions League second-round qualifying clash against Swedish side Halmstad. Alec Nesovic, Mark Rutherford and Stephen Caffrey were injury doubts, but they are expected to be fit in time for the game. "It would have been difficult to leave anybody out after the way they have performed over the two games against Levadia, I told the players before the first match that if they did the business, they would keep their shirts and I see no reason to change that," said Mahon.
Mahon believes that all the pressure is on favourites Halmstads and Bohs will take the game to them. "They have watched us twice so they obviously have respect for us. They are a very good side, but if we play to our capability I think we can win this match. The onus is on us to win at Dalymount to give us any chance of winning the tie and that's what we will try to do," he said.
Halmstad manager Tom Prahl has been surprised at the quality of the Dublin side. The Swedish champions' boss watched Bohs beat Levadia Maardu 3-0 on aggregate in the first round, and warned: "They're better than I thought and above all else, they're clever footballers."
Prahl believes that Bohs' style of play makes them dangerous. "They don't play in a typically British way, with long balls and a lot of passes back to the goalkeeper. They play out wide a lot, and they're good at keeping the ball within the team for long periods. If we give the ball away we're really going to have to chase the game," he said.
"They are a good team but we have a chance. Maybe they're not as quick when playing deep, and they've not been tested at the back. We have to lift ourselves and we can do it," said Prahl.
Halmstad's 18-man squad flew to Dublin, hoping to shake off their poor domestic form this season which has seen them fall five points adrift of AIK Solna. Swedish international Stefan Selakovic will play up front. The 24-year-old was top scorer last term with ten goals and he has scored seven times in 14 games so far this season.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
