Champions League Preview: Dundalk -v- FC BATE Borisov

DUNDALK

Stephen Kenny’s Dundalk side vie to keep the Irish flag flying in the Champions League by upsetting the odds to oust Belarusian Champions FC BATE Borisov in Oriel Park tomorrow evening.

The Lilywhites trail the Belarusian heavyweights going into this tie but an away goal from David McMillian means this tie is very much in the balance. A dominant first half of attacking football and a resilient defensive second half means the Lilywhite fans have cause to be hopeful, even if their side is trailing 2-1 heading into this match.

It’s a reflection of how well The Town took the game to BATE in the first leg, that there was an air of disappointment following the game. That disappointment seems to have been replaced by determination in the Dundalk camp.

Goalscorer David McMillian told his club’s media that he knows his goal has kept things alive but that his teammates don’t want the tag of 'nearly-men' come the final whistle at Oriel Park on Wednesday evening

“We will know how important that goal was. Hopefully we can go and do the job at home. We don’t want a hard luck story. We want to go and get through the round but that’s up to us and make sure that we perform next week.

“Getting the away goal was crucial and I am sure they won’t fancy coming to Oriel Park”.

As things stand, a solitary goal for the Irish champions could see them progress on a 1-0 scoreline, but the Oriel outfit’s players must know that nothing less than their very best will facilitate progression to the third qualifying round.

Dundalk captain Stephen O’Donnell was a stand-out performer in Minsk last week, he echoed McMillian’s ambition when he reflected on the game played and his side’s preparations for the game to come.

“We are satisfied enough with our display but we know that we can play a lot better than that. There’s plenty more to come. We just have to make sure that we are fully zoned in now for the game next week.

“We have to prepare well now – we’ll be in over the weekend in training, watching the game back on DVD and getting our tactics right again. We know what we need to work on for next week and we’ll do that over the weekend.”

A large crowd will be in Oriel Park for this sold out fixture, but for those fans not already in possession of a ticket they can catch the action live on RTE television with coverage commencing at 7.30PM.

FC BATE BORISOV

FC BATE Borisov have a clean bill of health ahead of their arrival to Oriel Park.

The Yellow and Blue’s manager, Alyaksandr Yermakovich , may have been sweating on a UEFA ruling relating to captain and all-time top scorer, Vitaly Rodinov. There was speculation Rodinov might receive a ban following an incident involving Dundalk defender Dane Massey in last week’s tie.

The action was not spotted by the referee at the time but Dundalk hoped that video evidence might be enough to see something done. The incident was swiftly considered and the Irish side’s appeal was rejected, clearing him to line out against the Lilywhites in Wednesday’s tie.

Rodinov released a statement on his clubs website apologising for his conduct in last week’s tie. He directed his apology to both sets of fans and Dane Massey.

“I was involved in an incident. I am really sorry about that. At the moment I understand wrongfulness of my behaviour and accept that there is no place for aggression in football. Together with that I would like to explain that my actions were not an assault and did not have any direct intent to harm the opponent and were not in by any means a demonstration of enmity towards him, but were only a result of emotions after we scored a goal.”

BATE lead this tie 2-1 following their home leg. Speaking after his side’s win Yermakovich told Belarusian press that he had to be happy with the win but that he had hoped for a more convincing performance and scoreline.

“A win is a win, but the margin is really small. This is not the best result before the second leg. If we assess the game, Dundalk proved to be a very serious opponent. I think the first half was not the best for us in spite of two goals. We lacked something both up front and in defence. Now we have more information about the opponent and have a week to analyse what we know now. Hopefully that will help us in Ireland”.

Referee: Stavros Tritsonis (Greece)

MATCH STATS

This is the Belarusian side’s second ever trip to Ireland and their first to Oriel Park. Previously they have played Bohemians in the 2003 Champions League. The Irish side succeeded in overturning a 1-0 away deficit to win 3-0 in Dalymount and win 3-1 on aggregate. Stephen Kenny was the Bohs manager at the time

FC BATE’s victory ended a run of away wins for Dundalk that had spanned 18 games back to September

Dundalk’s domestic record has been impressive this year and their track record at home is formidable; they have conceded just 5 goals at home and scored 37.

BETTING

Dundalk 2/1; Draw 9/4; BATE 13/10.

PREDICTION

Dundalk 2 – 1 BATE.

Dundalk FC

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

FC BATE Barisov

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.