Cork City are the last League of Ireland team standing in Europe this summer and they will have to be at their best to beat renowned Norwegian outfit Rosenborg over two legs to advance to the final qualifying round of the Europa League.
John Caulfield’s side are hoping to emulate Shamrock Rovers’ 2011 success, where they became the first Irish side to make it through to the groups stages of the competition, followed swiftly by Dundalk who went one better and secured the first win in the elusive group stages in 2016.
Should City advance, they will face either Red Bull Salzburg or KF Shkendija for a place in the group stages, but there is a lot of work to do over the next two games to get into that position.
The 2017 SSE Airtricity League champions find themselves at this stage of the competition following their Champions League exit at the hands of Polish champions Legia Warsaw.
And while City lost that tie 4-0 on aggregate, Caulfield’s side will look back to that first leg where they matched a very strong unit for most of that ninety-minute encounter, with just one long-range effort the difference between the sides on the night.
Rosenborg are the visitors to the Cross for the first leg this time around, and while the Norwegian outfit are no longer the Champions League group stage regulars that saw them reach the quarter-finals in 1996 in the middle of their record breaking 13 league titles in a row, the current crop are bringing life back to the club and have taken the title for the past three years.
City will have had plenty of time to evaluate their opponents, following Rosenborg’s elimination from the Champions League in the last round at the hands of Scottish champions Celtic.
The 3-1 scoreline from the first leg, perhaps, flattered the Glasgow giants, while the Norwegian side failed to take their chances in the second leg to get back into the tie, ending in a stalemate as Celtic advanced.
Yet City will not fear this Rosenborg side, and they can look back a round further for inspiration where Rosenborg lost their first leg match 1-0 to Icelandic side Valur, before turning the tie around back home at the Lerkendal Stadium, as they went through 3-2 on aggregate.
And likewise, City will need to bring something to Norway for the second leg, which will surely inspire an energetic and positive performance in front of a packed Turner’s Cross, with the game also live on RTE Sport.
The form factor will cancel both of these sides out as both these teams bring excellent league recent results into the game. The Norwegians are unbeaten in the league since June, while City have won their last three league games since the defeat to Legia, most notably a battling performance last Friday night, winning the Munster derby away at Waterford having gone a goal down against the third-placed side.
In team news, Caulfield has a strong squad to choose from with Colm Horgan the only player ruled out, however, there are doubts about the fitness of key duo Garry Buckley and Damien Delaney.
"They look a very good side," said City assistant manager John Cotter.
"Obviously, they played Celtic in the last round and we have watched those two games.
"In the first game, at Celtic Park, they could have been two up at half time, but Celtic came out a different side for the second half. They looked very good, very quick on the break. They are fit, they are mid-season and they went top of the table the other night with a win over Ranheim.
"They are very organised and have a lot of players who have been there for a few years, so they will be a test for us. We have won our last three games since coming back from Warsaw and played well in them. We came out of Warsaw disappointed, but we have bounced back well and that is all you could have asked for."
But Cotter believes that the expected sold out venue will be key in creating another memorable night for Cork City and is convinced that the special atmosphere at a packed Turner’s Cross can lead to a positive result to take to Norway for the return fixture.
"Small margins make a massive difference, so hopefully tomorrow night we can create chances and take one or two of them.
"It’s a home game, we will have a full house and Turner’s Cross, as the last game against Legia showed, is a great place to play.
"The atmosphere was brilliant, and the supporters have been superb; tomorrow is a great game for us to have and, hopefully, we can go out, play well and get a positive result to take into next week.
"We are under no illusions that it will be a tough game, and we will have to be at our very best to get something, but we would be confident that, with the crowd behind us and a good atmosphere, we can put on a good show."
