EUROPA CUP - Steaua Bucharest v St Patrick's Athletic:TWELVE MONTHS after coming up slightly short against Hertha Berlin, St Patrick's Athletic will mount a second assault on securing a place of pride in the Irish football history books tonight (6.30 Irish time) when they take on former European champions Steaua Bucharest at the Stadionul Ghencea in the Romanian capital.
Victory over this and next week’s second leg at the RDS would make the Dubliners the first League of Ireland club to qualify for the group stages of a Uefa competition. The Inchicore outfit’s pre-season problems and form in domestic competitions would scarcely mark them out as a good bet to do it but his side’s heroics in previous rounds and Steaua’s difficulties yesterday prompted manager Jeff Kenna to declare himself “very confident” of progressing.
Kenna is set to start with fit-again striker Mark Quigley up front by himself in a 4-5-1 formation with Declan O’Brien switching, at the start at least, to the left wing and Bobby Ryan dropping to the bench. Otherwise, it is set to be the same team whose late fightback against Krylia Sovetov completed one of the competition’s biggest upsets so far. “I don’t want to make too many changes to the team that has got us here,” Kenna said, “because I don’t feel it’s necessary.”
Steaua’s league form over the opening few weeks has not been great while they will be weakened at the back by the absence though injury of Romanian international and club captain Dorin Ghionea as well as his former central defensive partner Dorin Goian, who has just been sold to Palermo in Italy.
The hosts still boast a decent array of international talent and recently-appointed coach Cristiano Bergodi insisted yesterday he and his players have the utmost respect for their Irish opponents.
Their preparations sound slightly less than ideal, though, with the Italian coach, having just one tape of St Patrick’s in action (the 2-0 league defeat of a significantly different team by Bohemians earlier this month) observing he will really only see how the visitors play when they take to the field this evening.
The locals may also be hit harder by the condition of the pitch which looks awful after prolonged high temperatures through the summer and then freak flooding three weeks ago. There is also the matter of the Uefa ban on supporters to contend with and while Bergodi insisted it would not be used as an “alibi” by his players, there is a sense the circumstances might provide St Patrick’s with a better chance here than Shelbourne had when they came and lost 4-1 in 2005.
Kenna’s game plan is essentially to “keep it tight then see where we go from there”. Given the quality of the opposition and the heat, his decision to start Quigley for only the second time since he returned from a long lay-off looks a bit of a gamble although the 23-year-old’s record suggests he is worth his place and the question then is whether, as seems likely, he rather than O’Brien should be the one to start in the lone striker’s role.
Kenna reckons so but it is the manager’s reorganisations during games that have proven at least as important as his initial team selections during this run so far and he, like his players, will have to think fast on his feet again this evening.
PROBABLE TEAMS
STEAUA BUCHAREST:Tatarusanu; Golanski, Tudose, Baciu, Marin; Szekely, Onicas, Ionescu, Nicolita; Surdu, Stancu.
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC:Rogers; Gavin, Harris, Partridge, Stevens; Guym Lynch, Byrne, O'Connor, O'Brien; Quigley.
Venue:Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest Kick-off: 6.30 (Irish time)
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