UEFA Conference League third qualifying round second legs
Thursday, 14 August
Shamrock Rovers (0) v Ballkani (1), Tallaght Stadium, 8pm
Besiktas (4) St Patrick's Athletic (1), Tupras Stadyumu, 7pm
ONLINE
Shamrock Rovers v Ballkani is available to stream on LOITV. There will be a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
WEATHER
The sun was splitting the stones on Wednesday, but it will be more overcast in Dublin ahead of Shamrock Rovers' tussle with Kosovan side Ballkani. Temperatures will still hover around the 20-degree mark on a balmy evening, however.
In Istanbul, St Pat's can expect warm conditions, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s at kick-off.
Hoops have work to do
It's a big night in Tallaght as Shamrock Rovers aim to keep their European ambitions alive.
The SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division leaders were not at their best in last week's first leg, falling to a 1-0 loss thanks to Sunday Adetunji's second-half effort, but they're far from out of this.
A boisterous home crowd will look to get their team over the line and set up a play-off against either Larne or Portuguese side Santa Clara, who lead 3-0 after the first leg at the Ballymena Showgrounds.
Boss Stephen Bradley knows what Adetunji is capable of. The 27-year-old Nigerian played - and scored - against Rovers in the colours of North Macedonia's Shkupi when the clubs met in the Europa League qualifiers back in 2022.
Richie Towell was involved in that tie, which the Hoops won 5-2 on aggregate. He expects his old side to progress tonight but warned: "The thing is they have the boy Sunday Adetunji up front. We played against him when he played for Shkupi, a really good player.
"He's very similar to Tammy Abraham (tormentor of St Pat's last Thursday). He's that big, tall, gangly, physical presence, he can run in behind, he has a good touch, so he'll be a real target man for Ballkani."
Last year Larne beat Ballkani on penalties in the Conference League third qualifying round. Shamrock Rovers later beat Larne 4-1 in Belfast after both clubs reached the league phase.
The Hoops will need to improve on their first-leg showing, but they certainly have the tools to get the job done here.
Team news: Graham Burke is back from injury in a big boost for the hosts, but the omission of Jack Byrne from the squad has raised eyebrows. Byrne is not injured, with speculation mounting there's a rift between the player and management. Aaron McEneff is also unavailable.
Player view - Ed McGinty (Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper): "They move the ball well, they move it at speed and they've got individual threats going forward. It's just about keeping the heads down. We don't really get too far ahead of ourselves. It's about working hard and trusting what we do on the ball."
Saints playing for pride in Turkey
St Pat's were blown away by a quality, ruthless first-half showing from Besiktas last week.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men came to Dublin under pressure after being hammered by Shakhtar Donetsk 6-2 on aggregate in the Europa League second-round qualifiers.
However their big names turned on the style to crush any hopes of an upset, Tammy Abraham's hat-trick helping them to a 4-0 lead at the break.
The big plus for Stephen Kenny was his team's performance on the turnaround. Simon Power scored a super individual effort before Mason Melia spurned a golden opportunity to nick a second. They'll hope to avoid a morale-damaging hammering at Tupras Stadyumu before focusing fully on domestic duties.
"It's one of those where you have to gee the players up to go and enjoy the experience," said ex-Dundalk striker David McMillan on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast.
"I've played in Ukraine, I've played in Belarus, the atmosphere can be - in Turkey in particular - absolutely incredible. Those games are some of the best experiences players will have.
"It's disappointing for Pat's that they go there really for damage limitation... but as a player you just have to enjoy the experience. As a League of Ireland player, you don't get to play that type of opposition all that often."
Besiktas had no league game at the weekend so will be ominously fresh. Meanwhile, Kenny will have one eye on Sunday evening's massive FAI Cup last-16 clash against Shelbourne in Inchicore. He has a number of injury concerns and will have to utilise his squad.
Team news: The Saints are without Zack Elbouzedi (shoulder), Aidan Keena (thigh), Sean Hoare (calf), Anto Breslin (knee), and Romal Palmer (hamstring).
Manager view - Stephen Kenny (St Pat's): "(Besiktas) is an institution in Turkey. It's an incredible stadium, really incredible, and it's a very passionate home support. The players worked hard to get into Europe. Now we're here we want to put in a good performance. Obviously there will be some changes, all of the players can't play all of the games. Sunday is important as well so we've got to look at all that."
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