St Patrick's Athletic and Sligo Rovers are in action in the second round of Europa Conference League qualifying tonight.
The Saints are beginning their campaign, having been bumped up to this stage based on UEFA rankings, while Sligo progressed on penalties against Welsh side Bala Town on penalties.
As Shamrock Rovers found out on Tuesday, each new rounds raises the bar in terms of the challenge.
Pat’s begin at home to NS Mura, the side who famously beat Tottenham Hotspur in the group stages last year, while Sligo are in Britain once again to take on Scottish side Motherwell.
It’s going to take some big performances from the Irish sides to enter round three.
Motherwell v Sligo Rovers, Fir Park, 7.45pm
When this draw was made, and particularly after an away win over Bala Town, it felt like a huge opportunity was awaiting Sligo Rovers to rattle a Scottish Premiership side in the second round.
However, a near-disastrous 10 days followed for the Bit O' Red.
Sligo had to thank fortune and the heroics of goalkeeper Ed McGinty after 120 minutes of a first round second leg against Bala in The Showgrounds.
He made several magnificent stops and went on to save two penalties in the shootout to ensure the Premier Division side progressed.
There was as much relief as there was joy for John Russell and his side, having taken a lead from the game in Shropshire. The poor performance was followed by another with a 2-0 home defeat to UCD – the Students had won just one game all season prior to Sunday.
McGinty had been attracting considerable interest before the Conference League campaign – and it was only added to by his stunning display against Bala – and a transfer to English League One side side Oxford United could be completed before this game kicks off.
Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad member Luke McNicholas is an able replacement for McGinty, but there are concerns elsewhere.
Greg Bolger, Seamas Keogh and Colm Horgan are set to be ruled out due to injury. Shane Blaney was forced off injured on Sunday while Garry Buckley was not called upon from the bench.
Teenager Eanna Clancy made his debut at centre half with no other defenders available, while other youngsters Kailin Barlow and Cillian Heaney are the impact players for Russell with around 15 senior players available.
It’s a dreadful time for Sligo to be down on bodies, given the importance of the tie, but Russell has shown himself to be willing to throw his young players in at the deep end and he may need to here.
For Motherwell, they’ll play a home game in Europe in front of their supporters for the first time in eight years.
Accordingly, a crowd of up to 8,000 is expected including a large visiting support from the north-west of Ireland.
The Steelmen are likely to be hit with the absence of talismanic striker Kevin van Veen.
The Dutchman and former Hibernian defender Paul McGinn missed Saturday's 1-0 friendly win over Partick Thistle with knocks and had not returned to training before Alexander met the media on Wednesday morning.
Although both will be assessed before kick-off, Alexander admitted it would be a "bonus" if they made the game.
Van Veen was a key player for Motherwell last season, especially after Tony Watt left for Dundee United in January, and Alexander has since allowed attackers Kaiyne Woolery, Jordan Roberts and Justin Amaluzor to move on.
"We have lost a couple of players but, not being disrespectful, we were comfortable with certain players moving on, because we felt we needed to trim the squad and redefine it a little bit," he said.
"We have only brought three players in so far - Paul McGinn, Blair Spittal and Josh Morris - but these are proven performers."
The Thistle game was one of only two friendlies Motherwell have had, the other being a training-ground game in Austria. They finished the year poorly last year still did enough to claim fifth place - the position Sligo currently occupy in the Premier this campaign.
Alexander is confident his side are as prepared as they can be to face the Bit O’Red.
"Certainly at the start of the season your freshness can be an advantage, or being in your stride can be an advantage," Alexander said.
"What we have got to do is focus on how we prepare and not getting any excuses ready. We are ready to go into a game of football, we are physically ready and tactically ready. Mentally the players are ready for this challenge.
"Sligo are a good footballing team, they can be expansive, they have got the right players in the right positions to be a successful team.
"The harder the challenge for us, I think the better we perform. We are expecting a tough game but the biggest aim for us is to make sure they have a tough game."
St Patrick's Athletic v NS Mura, Richmond Park, 7.45pm
Richmond Park is long sold out for this fixture due to the 2,700 seated capacity, a reflection of the limitations of their home stadium for UEFA competition given attendances have been very healthy this season in Dublin 8, and it's fair to say close to double the amount of tickets could have been sold.
Tim Clancy took on one of the plum jobs in Irish football when Stephen O’Donnell departed. There has been turbulence in his first season, leaving many fans frustrated as they’ve failed to build on last year’s FAI Cup win.
It’s understandable, but also must be balanced given how there has been a degree of rebuilding in Inchicore.
Tonight’s opposition represent a massive challenge for Pat’s and although they’ve lost the likes of Darragh Burns and James Abankwah recently, all is not lost.
NS Mura may be just 10 years old but they already have a claim to fame thanks to a win last year in the Conference League.
Becoming just the second side from Slovenia to ever reach a group stage of a European competition, they suffered five defeats apart from toppling Spurs with a last-minute winner.
They began this year’s competition with a 4-2 aggregate win over Sfintul Gheorghe of Moldova, and started the league campaign with a 2-0 loss to Olimpija.
Pat's have reinforced their squad in the last week, with Barry Cotter making a surprise loan move from Shamrock Rovers. Adam Murphy (hamstring) is the only injury absentee.
Pat's boss Tim Clancy and his backroom team have run the rule over Mura.
"We've analysed as much as we could in their two games in the first round of the qualifiers and also has somebody watch them in their first game of the season. They are not household names but we can't be bogged down by that, they are a very good side.
"They had a good result against Spurs in the group stage last year so we know they're going to be physical; they are a big side and are very fit. They play good football, so we'll have to be at our very best.
"A positive for us is that we didn't play in the first round, so we could analyse them. They've played three games so far this season, we've played 24, so that should be some sort of an advantage for us."
St Patrick's Athletic manager Tim Clancy and striker Eoin Doyle told @Corktod that they are expecting a stern test from Slovenia's NS Mura in Thursday's Europa Conference League clash at Richmond Park. pic.twitter.com/hGqgzXKCCI
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 20, 2022
Striker Eoin Doyle is looking ahead to the game and told RTÉ Sport: "They press very well and are comfortable in possession. It's going to be a test for us; we are looking forward to it. As long as I can help the lads and achieve something that would be great."
His manager is all too aware of what the much-travelled frontman brings to the side.
"He's very important, not just his goals but his presence on the pitch. If you look at the numbers from the GPS after every game, he covers the most ground."
What's in store for Sligo and Pat's if both advance next week:
Europa Conference League third round draw:
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) / Viking (Norway) v Motherwell / Sligo Rovers
CSKA-Sofia (Bulgaria) / Makedonija (North Macedonia) v St Patrick's Athletic / Mura FC
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
