Irish champions Dundalk will be looking to overcome a 1-0 first-leg deficit against BATE Borisov tomorrow night and manager Stephen Kenny believes the Lilywhites have to play the “game of our lives” to progress past their high-profile opponents.
Kenny’s side were outplayed by the Belarus champions in the first leg last Tuesday at the Borisov Arena, however, the Oriel Park side escaped with just a 1-0 defeat, which leaves the tie very much alive for the return leg at Tallaght Stadium tomorrow night (kick-off 8:00pm)
And while the Dundalk boss admits that it is a huge ask to turn the tie around, Kenny believes that his side can still progress to the final qualifying round of the Champions League.
“We certainly believe we can,” said Kenny, speaking to RTE Sport. “It’s an unbelievable prize and the motivation is high.
“We have to put in the performance of our lives tomorrow night and make sure we give everything of ourselves and do everything we can to progress.
“BATE Borisov, we know all about their quality having been in the group stages for five years in a row and the level that they play at."
The League of Ireland back-to-back title winners have dominated the domestic scene in recent years but the BATE clash is a very different proposition and Kenny knows that his side will have to play a lot better than they did in the away fixture.
“They forced us on the back foot last week. We would have liked to pass the ball better than we did but sometimes it is difficult under intense pressure. But losing 1-0 in Belarus is no disgrace and we know what we have to do.
“They gave us a tough game in Belarus but we’re back in Ireland now. It’s a minimum lead, 1-0, so it’s all to play for.
“We need to win the game and we know that a 1-0 victory will take us to extra time and penalties.
“We’re capable of scoring goals and there is no reason why we cannot win the game outright. We have the players who can score goal and have proven that in Europe.”
And while Kenny’s optimism is admirable, the manager acknowledges that the task will get a lot more difficult should the visitors grab an away goal, which would mean that Dundalk would have to score three times.
As a result, the Dundalk manager believes that it is important that his side remain in the tie for as long as possible and that lessons have been learned from previous campaigns.
“We would have learned from a few seasons ago where we threw the kitchen sink at Hajduk Split at home and conceded in the first ten minutes, so it does definitely impact on the way that you are thinking about the game.
“We have never been cautious in our approach really, but it is very important that we stay in the game as long as you can.”
The match takes place in the home of Kenny’s former side, Shamrock Rovers, due to Dundalk’s home ground not meeting UEFA specifications for this stage of the tournament.
But Kenny does not necessarily see it as a disadvantage as the Tallaght native said that his side have good memories from playing at the Dublin venue.
“We are Dundalk Football Club and you do want to be in your home town for supporters to have that feeling that a provincial town gets on European nights.
“But our ground is nowhere near ready, but that’s a different story. We need a new ground or an upgraded one.
“But we’re here in Dublin and that’s the way it is. We have a terrific travelling support from Dundalk and hopefully some of the Dublin public come to watch us and get behind the team.
“We don’t see it as a disadvantage. We have good memories here, winning the league here last season.
“So from our point of view, we’re looking forward to it. It’s where we want to be and we want to play the game of our lives.”
