Trying to even score against the odds

Just another Irish team dreaming the impossible dream and getting notions above their station. That is the cynical view of Bohemians as they prepare for their Champions League second qualifying round second-leg game with Halmstad BK at the Orjans Vall stadium tonight (kick-off 6 p.m.).

The opinion that the Swedish champions will progress is backed up by the overwhelming advantages they appear to hold over their Irish counterparts.

A victory with two away goals is usually enough to see a club through to the next round. History is against Pete Mahon's players; on just four occasions in the history of European competition has an Irish side overturned a first-leg deficit.

If that weren't enough, Mahon has this week had to contend with the temper tantrum thrown by one of his players, Alex Nesovic. That followed some rather innocuous remarks made by the manager, along the lines that Alex Nesovic was more effective as a player when he was introduced as a substitute.

The end result of that spat is that Nesovic is not here in Sweden so Mahon must choose from the untested Gary O'Neill and the undisciplined Trevor Molloy to partner the undisputed star of this team, Glen Crowe, in attack.

So, the odds are against Bohemians, and everything points to progression for Halmstads BK. Or does it? There are reasons for hope, based on rationale rather than just blind faith.

Bohemians boast a record of two wins and a draw from their last three away games in European competition against Aberdeen, Kaiserslautern and Levadia Maardu.

Furthermore, although Bohemians scored just once at Dalymount Park, there were at least three more occasions, in the first half alone, when they could easily have done so. The likelihood is they will create goal-scoring opportunities again tonight.

Whether they can deliver a result to justify their pre-match confidence is wholly dependent on their ability to avail of those opportunities. The choice between O'Neill and Molloy is the most difficult Mahon has to make. Earlier in the week, the former St Francis manager was leaning towards playing the former.

However, having created a bigger impression in training yesterday, it looks as though Molloy may edge out the youngster to make his first competitive appearance of a season which has already been blighted by controversy following his failure to report back in time following the summer break.

The other main issue concerning Mahon is the fitness of Mark Rutherford. By far their best player in the first game, the lively winger is troubled by tendonitis but Mahon remains hopeful that he can play.

The only change to the Halmstads BK team will be if Swedish international Petter Hansson fails a fitness test on a leg injury.

Bohemians (Probable): Russell, Shelley, Maher, John, Webb; Byrne, Hunt, Caffrey, Rutherford; Crowe, Molloy.