Sporting's Euro Fever
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Last week, I was meant to continue my weekly column with European Experiences: Part
2. However, due to commitments over in Portugal with Fingal, as I am sure most of you
are aware of, I was unable to write the piece I had promised. I will continue with that piece
in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, this week I am going to review last week’s
European games with the main focus on our game with CS Maritimo.
Bohemians got a very good result at home against TNS. I didn’t watch the game but the reports suggested that Bohs deserved the victory. As I am writing this though, it is 4-0 to TNS which I am quite shocked at as I expected them to go through after last week’s result.
Dundalk done very well in beating CS Grevenmacher of Luxemburg in the first qualifying round, but they got dealt a massive task in facing Levski Sofia of Bulgaria in the second qualifying round. A 6-0 deficit will be near impossible to overturn in the second leg on Thursday but I wish them the best of luck.
Shamrock Rovers got a decent result last week which gives them plenty to play for over in Israel in the second leg. My old team mate Robert Bayly came up trumps with the equaliser which gives them a real chance of overcoming their Israeli opponents on Thursday.
The draw for the third qualifying round was made last week and the main highlight from an Irish perspective was the massive opportunity that lies ahead for Shamrock Rovers if they can succeed on Thursday night. As if the Rovers players and fans needed any more motivation, the chance to line out against such a major European force will no doubt spur the players on that extra little bit and I really, really hope they can do it as I would love to see them playing against Juventus.
Last week, as I stated already, we travelled to Funchal on the Island of Madeira, Portugal, for our second qualifying round 1st leg game against CS Maritimo. Preparation was key and we readied as well as we could have. We travelled over on the Sunday which gave us plenty of time to get settled in and acclimatize before the game on Thursday.
The hotel where we stayed was first class and contained a games room that allowed usto kill time during training and meals. The training facilities were of a very high standard and other issues including food and drink where all dealt with accordingly.
During the day, the weather was very hot but after 6pm, it cooled down so the heat was not going to be a problem at all come kick off time.
Tactically, we watched DVDs on the opposition and everybody had a job spec to carry out and Liam and co made sure individually and collectively we knew what we were doing and who exactly we were facing, again both individually and collectively.
So, coming into the game, Liam made sure we were all as prepared as we could be. The game started off well for us as we frustrated them with our disciplined shape. The lads in midfield, Ronan Finn, Shaun Williams and Shane McFaul were getting the upper hand in midfield and looked very comfortable at that level.
Deservedly, we went 1-0 up at half time. Glen Crowe, who I think deserves a special mention got the goal. Not only did he work his socks off up front on his own but he also scored a cracker of a header that any striker in the world would have been proud of. I think that’s his 12th European goal of his career, a record for any Irish player in Europe.
Maritimo’s preparation wasn’t near as good as ours as I feel they underestimated us quite a bit in the first half. I think we surprised them with how well we can actually play, especially in the centre of midfield.
However, in the second half, a more determined Maritimo showed up and they certainly upped the tempo. We lost Colin Hawkins to a rib injury mid way through the second half and that didn’t help matters. Although Lorcan Fitzgerald scored a wonderfully executed second goal for us, it wasn’t enough as we lost 3-2.
The goals that we conceded were a little unlucky, especially the third goal that came in the 5th minute of added time when only 4 minutes was held up by the fourth official. Relief was evident on the faces of the Maritimo players at the end of the game and disappointment on ours.
At 3-2, the game is still very much alive and thanks to the two wonderful goals by Glen Crowe and Lorcan Fitzgerald, we will go into the game on Thursday with a real chance of overcoming the deficit. Liam and the staff will have us all prepared and we will have a game plan for all possible scenarios that will arise in the game.
So, this brings me to my last and final point before I leave you to prepare for the task that lies ahead on Thursday night. Last week, Maritimo had about 2,000 or so fans at the game. We had around 30 fans that made one hell of a racket and I want to thank them all for their support. But just imagine if we could turn 30 noisy and influential supporters into a few thousand.
It would be great if we could create an intimidating atmosphere for CS Maritimo and a motivational atmosphere for us on Thursday night. I call all supporters, all League of Ireland supporters to come down to Dalymount and cheer us on, and in return, we will promise to put on one hell of a show and beat the mighty CS Maritimo.
Bohemians got a very good result at home against TNS. I didn’t watch the game but the reports suggested that Bohs deserved the victory. As I am writing this though, it is 4-0 to TNS which I am quite shocked at as I expected them to go through after last week’s result.
Dundalk done very well in beating CS Grevenmacher of Luxemburg in the first qualifying round, but they got dealt a massive task in facing Levski Sofia of Bulgaria in the second qualifying round. A 6-0 deficit will be near impossible to overturn in the second leg on Thursday but I wish them the best of luck.
Shamrock Rovers got a decent result last week which gives them plenty to play for over in Israel in the second leg. My old team mate Robert Bayly came up trumps with the equaliser which gives them a real chance of overcoming their Israeli opponents on Thursday.
The draw for the third qualifying round was made last week and the main highlight from an Irish perspective was the massive opportunity that lies ahead for Shamrock Rovers if they can succeed on Thursday night. As if the Rovers players and fans needed any more motivation, the chance to line out against such a major European force will no doubt spur the players on that extra little bit and I really, really hope they can do it as I would love to see them playing against Juventus.
Last week, as I stated already, we travelled to Funchal on the Island of Madeira, Portugal, for our second qualifying round 1st leg game against CS Maritimo. Preparation was key and we readied as well as we could have. We travelled over on the Sunday which gave us plenty of time to get settled in and acclimatize before the game on Thursday.
The hotel where we stayed was first class and contained a games room that allowed usto kill time during training and meals. The training facilities were of a very high standard and other issues including food and drink where all dealt with accordingly.
During the day, the weather was very hot but after 6pm, it cooled down so the heat was not going to be a problem at all come kick off time.
Tactically, we watched DVDs on the opposition and everybody had a job spec to carry out and Liam and co made sure individually and collectively we knew what we were doing and who exactly we were facing, again both individually and collectively.
So, coming into the game, Liam made sure we were all as prepared as we could be. The game started off well for us as we frustrated them with our disciplined shape. The lads in midfield, Ronan Finn, Shaun Williams and Shane McFaul were getting the upper hand in midfield and looked very comfortable at that level.
Deservedly, we went 1-0 up at half time. Glen Crowe, who I think deserves a special mention got the goal. Not only did he work his socks off up front on his own but he also scored a cracker of a header that any striker in the world would have been proud of. I think that’s his 12th European goal of his career, a record for any Irish player in Europe.
Maritimo’s preparation wasn’t near as good as ours as I feel they underestimated us quite a bit in the first half. I think we surprised them with how well we can actually play, especially in the centre of midfield.
However, in the second half, a more determined Maritimo showed up and they certainly upped the tempo. We lost Colin Hawkins to a rib injury mid way through the second half and that didn’t help matters. Although Lorcan Fitzgerald scored a wonderfully executed second goal for us, it wasn’t enough as we lost 3-2.
The goals that we conceded were a little unlucky, especially the third goal that came in the 5th minute of added time when only 4 minutes was held up by the fourth official. Relief was evident on the faces of the Maritimo players at the end of the game and disappointment on ours.
At 3-2, the game is still very much alive and thanks to the two wonderful goals by Glen Crowe and Lorcan Fitzgerald, we will go into the game on Thursday with a real chance of overcoming the deficit. Liam and the staff will have us all prepared and we will have a game plan for all possible scenarios that will arise in the game.
So, this brings me to my last and final point before I leave you to prepare for the task that lies ahead on Thursday night. Last week, Maritimo had about 2,000 or so fans at the game. We had around 30 fans that made one hell of a racket and I want to thank them all for their support. But just imagine if we could turn 30 noisy and influential supporters into a few thousand.
It would be great if we could create an intimidating atmosphere for CS Maritimo and a motivational atmosphere for us on Thursday night. I call all supporters, all League of Ireland supporters to come down to Dalymount and cheer us on, and in return, we will promise to put on one hell of a show and beat the mighty CS Maritimo.
