UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND:HAVING ALREADY pretty much made the journey this year from hero at Drogheda United to zero at Dundalk, Declan O'Brien could well find himself the object of adulation again tonight if he can help St Patrick's Athletic lay the groundwork for a place in the play-off round of the Europa League with a win over Russia's Krylia Sovetov.
The 30-year-old Dubliner, who arrived in Inchicore on loan a couple of weeks back, scored in both legs of the second-round encounter with Valletta to help get Jeff Kenna’s men this far but he readily acknowledges this evening’s opponents are likely to prove a far greater challenge than the Maltese outfit did.
“It’s definitely going to be very tough. I think if you get a team like this you’re really looking for them to be out of season so that you have some sort of an advantage over them.
“With the squad that we’ve got here we’ve struggled against lower opposition, the likes of Galway, teams that aren’t operating on anything like the level that these are so you have to say it’s a really big ask.”
Krylia are currently seventh in the Russian league having lost 2-0 at the weekend but they are just seven points off top spot with the likes of CSKA, Spartak and Dynamo all within fairly easy range if they can put together any sort of run during August.
The backbone of the side consists of well-regarded though relatively unknown Russians but Czech internationals Jan Koller and Jiri Jarosik (the latter of both Chelsea and Celtic) will be familiar to supporters here while there is also a sprinkling for players from other countries including South Korea, Columbia and Brazil.
Koller, now 36, is the team’s top scorer this season with fellow striker Evgeniy Savin and midfielder Timofey Kalachev also chipping in with a few but the Russians’ goals haven’t tended to be the club’s strong suit this season with just two games to date in which they have managed more than one.
Kenna is fractionally better fixed than last week with Mark Leech and Gary Dempsey likely to be fit enough to at least feature on the bench.
Mark Quigley is still about three weeks from returning for the Dubliners, however, while Darragh Ryan is suspended after his sending off in Malta last week.
The left back’s absence means there must be at least one change to a back four that has rarely been the same for two matches running, an important factor, insists Kenna, in the team’s difficulties this season.
“It’s been very frustrating,” he says. “We play one team one week and we get a positive result and then through injuries and suspensions we have to change the team. That’s been the case pretty much since the start of the season.
“I believe we have a strong enough squad to be a lot higher up the league than we are, but at the moment the league doesn’t lie.”
As for tonight, he is hoping that his team can do enough to leave the Russians feeling at least a little of the heat when St Patrick’s make what promises to be a difficult away trip next week.
“That (the Russians starting as favourites to progress) is fine by me. I have no problems with it at all. It’s up to us how we approach the game and how the players perform on the night.
“We’ll be well prepared, we’ll give a good account of ourselves and if they underestimate us at all, I’ll be happy with that.
“I’d certainly like a clean sheet,” he adds.
“As I said already, it’s going to be a very difficult tie as it is. If we could take a 1-0 out of there I’d be ecstatic.”
