Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr believes Dundalk have what it takes to progress past BATE Borisov in tonight’s Champions League qualifying tie at Oriel Park (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7.30pm).
The Premier Division leaders are 2-1 down from the first leg, meaning that a 1-0 victory would be good enough to win the tie.
The County Louth side held their own last week in Belarus and could have come away with more than a solitary David McMillan strike to show for their efforts.
And RTÉ Soccer analyst Kerr says that Stephen Kenny’s side can beat the Champions League group-stage regulars.
“I think Dundalk, playing their normal style, can upset them and can get that one goal that is required but they can’t afford to concede,” the ex-St Patrick’s Athletic boss told RTÉ Sport.
“I think they’ve enough quality to do it. There’s only 3,200 [fans] but there will be enough passion in the ground.
“I think there’s enough real quality in this Dundalk team. They need to be careful defensively, not to give anything away and there will be times when they are under pressure.
"They’ve been outstanding in the last two seasons, free-flowing football, lots of goals and winning matches. I think they’ve got a great chance"
“I’ve a good feeling about this team.
“It’s a huge task. BATE are a very experienced outfit at this level. It’ll be a big challenge for Dundalk to get through.
“But they themselves are a very good team as we know. They’ve been outstanding in the last two seasons, free-flowing football, lots of goals and winning matches – I think they’ve got a great chance,
“I think Stephen and his team would know that any small errors defensively would be punished.
“Last week they had equal possession in the match, they played very well but they conceded two goals out of nothing, they found a way to get a goal and I think there has to be an element of caution in their play.
“But equally they need to unsettle this BATE team, whose away record is not very impressive.”
The winner of tonight’s tie will face either TNS from Wales or Videoton in the third qualifying round, with the Hungarians favourites to progress thanks to a 1-0 advantage from their trip to Oswestry.
