Brighton and Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton may turn to Richie Towell to piece the Seagulls' Premier League dreams back together in their do-or-die clash with Sheffield Wednesday tonight.
The Owls beat the former Republic of Ireland full-back's team 2-0 in the Championship play-off semi-final first leg last Friday.
Ross Wallace and Kieran Lee struck at Hillsborough on a disastrous evening for Brighton, who lost four players to injury and were forced to play the last half-hour with 10 men having used all their substitutes.
That injury crisis gave former Dundalk man Towell a rare chance to impress Hughton, and he praised the 24-year-old's contribution from the bench in what was a pressure-cooker atmosphere.
“Richie Towell came on as a sub and other than the cup game at Hull, he has not featured at all," Hughton told www.seagulls.co.uk.
"I thought he coped with that very well when he came on. Lewis Dunk will be back for Monday, which will be a plus for us and we have the likes of Jamie Murphy and James Wilson who can come into the side.
“We’re always confident at home, because you have to be, but we’re realistic enough to know it will be a tough task. You’re playing against a very good team in Sheffield Wednesday.
“I don’t think it will be tough [to raise the players’ spirits], because they know what’s at stake. If we win by two or more goals, then we have a chance of getting to the final.
“We’ve got to pick ourselves up now, because we have to go again." - Richie Towell
“There certainly won’t be a player in that changing room that won’t be up for it or won’t feel that they can do it."
Towell's opportunities in the first team have been extremely limited since he moved across the water last November.
He made his debut in the 1-0 FA Cup third-round defeat to Hull back in January, but he failed to kick on from that and has been left to watch Brighton's promotion push from the sidelines.
Now he could be thrown into the most important game of their campaign, and is refusing to rule out what would be one of the great play-off turnarounds.
“It was great to come on, but to do so under those circumstances was unfortunate for the lads that had to come off, because you never wish injuries on any of your team-mates," the midfielder told the club's website.
“In all of my years of playing, I have never seen anything like that. You maybe have one or two, but never four players going off injured.
“We’ve got to pick ourselves up now, because we have to go again. Sheffield Wednesday are a really good side.
“They’ve [the fans] been great all season and I’m sure Monday will be no different. We’re definitely going to need the crowd to get behind us and I’m sure they will.”
