SOCCER: Shamrock Rovers (0) v FC Copenhagen (1)AS THEY take to the field this evening at Tallaght Stadium looking to build on the lead they have brought with them from the first leg and end Shamrock Rovers' dream of becoming the first Irish club to win a place in the Champions League proper, FC Copenhagen will have their most prolific goalscorer in European competitions, Senegalese striker Dame N'Doye, back in the starting line-up.
As it happens, so will Rovers but theirs, defender Dan Murray, may well spend the bulk of his evening trying to keep the African striker at bay. Murray, who will captain the side having reclaimed his place in the absence of the injured Ken Oman, has managed four goals in European competitions from 26 appearances, the bulk of which were made during his time with Cork City.
N’Doye’s tally is 14 in 34, including a few against some fairly high-quality opponents, and the Shamrock Rovers defender readily admits that on this occasion, “it’ll be more my job to stop them”.
Whether Rovers can do that while still posing enough of a threat themselves to get the goal they need just to level things up remains to be seen.
The consensus out in Tallaght yesterday was that Michael O’Neill’s men may have to improve significantly on what was a strong performance at the Parken Stadium last Wednesday if they really are to turn things around and progress to what would be the final hurdle before the group stage.
Murray, for one, insists it can be done as long as the locals have patience and apply themselves with the same determination they showed in Denmark.
“A one-nil defeat out there was, in European terms, not the worst thing that could happen,” he says, “especially in a tie that not many people gave us a chance in.
“It’s everything to play for now. Only being one-nil, we don’t have to go chasing anything too early. As long as we can keep it tight for as long as we can and – easier said than done – don’t concede a goal, we’re in with a shout; we’ve shown we can score goals from different areas of the pitch.
“All the players have experience in Europe now and that shows,” he adds. “We know what to do, we’re ready for whoever we play against. We have a great opportunity now to progress to the next round.”
For all of that, Murray is a little dismissive of the suggestion that the pressure on tonight’s opposition might prove to be a major factor.
“Well, most of them are internationals and most have played for Copenhagen for a few years now, so they know about expectation. They win their league easily pretty much every year and they were in the Champions League last year, so – no disrespect to ourselves – they’ve played bigger teams than us and got results.
“You could tell that they were expecting an easier game out there, though, and they probably expected to have a two- or three-goal lead coming over here so it was a credit to our lads that they put in such a great performance and the tie is still alive.”
Murray will have to improve on his early-season form for the club if Oman is not to prove a very major loss as the Dubliner was an absolutely key figure in the first leg.
Still, Gary McCabe, who is likely to replace Dean Kelly in the Rovers midfield, insists he is “a lot more confident now” than he had been prior to last week’s narrow defeat.
O’Neill, meanwhile, must decide whether to bring back Chris Turner, who missed out last time through suspension with, if he does, Stephen Rice the most likely to be replaced despite also having played well a week ago.
Despite admitting the stakes are high for the visitors, Copenhagen manager Roland Nilsson looked relaxed as he contemplated the game prior to his side’s training last night.
His team, he said, may also need to play better than they did in the first leg but he expressed confidence they will do so, both in defence, where they looked shaky at times last week, and up front, where they struggled to create clear-cut chances.
The Swede has a slight doubt over right back Johnny Thomsen, who was struggling from the outset last week and was replaced at half-time but N’Doye is fully recovered from a groin strain and ultimately both are likely to start along with Morten Nordstrand, who came on in the second half last week and then scored when he started at the weekend.
Assuming N’Doye and Nordstrand are paired up front, Cesar Santin will lose, out while 19- year-old Thomas Delaney is expected to make way for Pape Pate Diouf to revert to the left side of midfield
Probable Teams
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Thompson; Sullivan, Sives, Murray, Stevens; McCormack; Kelly McCabe, Turner, Finn, Dennehy; Twigg.
COPENHAGEN: Wiland; Thomsen, Ottesen, Zanka, Bengtsson; Bolanos, Grindheim, Claudemir, Diouf; Nordstrand, N'Doye.
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