WE ARRIVED BACK from Poland at 1am last night so have today off. We are back in on Saturday and Sunday so the boss [Liam Buckley] will be working us hard for what will be a huge return tie with Legia Warsaw.
The talk within the squad, before we flew out, was that we should not be afraid of them. They are Polish champions and a quality side be we felt our style of play is suited to Europe and that we would have a decent chance of coming back with a positive result. So it proved but it was backs to the wall stuff in the second half, in front of some fantastic home support.
We would have snapped up a draw if it was offered beforehand so to concede a 92nd minute equaliser, when we were so close to a historic victory, was disappointing. Legia had greater possession but we created the better chances. Killian Brennan had a great effort that drew a world-class save from their goalkeeper, Chris Forrester had a good opportunity and I would have put my mortgage on Christy Fagan scoring when he was one-on-one.
James Chambers had a decent chance in the second half and Keith Fahey went close with the rebound. Getting that second goal would have been massive but we go into Wednesday’s game with it all to play for. Getting a clean sheet will get us through but we will be confident about creating a few scoring opportunities for ourselves.
Legia, I imagine, will be pushed hard by their manager over the weekend. They are another week back into their season and will be well drilled ahead of the return leg. They’ll give us a bit more credit and respect than we received ahead of the first game. They thought they would walk over us — use us as a stepping stone — if you were to read into the pre-match comments from their manager and chairman.
It is not ideal for us to be playing at Tallaght Stadium, rather than our home ground of Richmond Park. We have a good record in Inchicore and would fancy our chances against any side there. Still, I know the Pat’s fans will come out in big numbers and Legia should bring a high number of travelling fans. I expect the game to be a sell-out. Hopefully, there will be a tribute paid to the Pat’s fan that unfortunately passed away in Poland after he travelled over to support us.
Our defensive display impressed me most the other night and we will need another team effort. We can’t afford to be carrying any players.
European pedigree
If we can get by Legia on Wednesday, a game awaits that would definitely capture the public’s imagination. Celtic are well placed to progress having beaten KR Reykjavík 1-0 in Iceland. There were a lot of texts and calls going around with the lads when the draw was made. It was probably the biggest and best draw we could have hoped for at this stage of the tournament.
Celtic are the team all the other sides would have wished to avoid. They are in the group stages most years and have achieved some big scalps, most recently Barcelona, recently. They have real European pedigree and, of course, are former winners. I would relish the chance to face them in Europe.
As for myself, I have been fully fit for the past six weeks and am very much playing for the team. I got about 45 minutes [having replaced Forrester] on Wednesday and scored against Bohemians when I started, last Friday. I have a good record of scoring or, at least, setting up goals when I start so I was happy to prove that again at Dalymount.
I made comments in an Irish Daily Star interview that I would rather quit football than leave St Pat’s at the end of the season. It is not like I was thinking of saying ‘right, see you later’ at the end of the season. It has just been frustrating for me to go from Player of the Year in 2012, and the guy who scored a league-winning penalty with Sligo, to a sub for the past 18 months.
I’ve been a starter at every club I’ve ever played at up until the past 18 months. If lads are playing well and scoring, it is hard to complain. Guys like Christy and Chris are doing a great job so I have no problems putting my head down and helping out whatever way I can. Still, as a guy who has huge belief in his game, watching from the sidelines can get me down.
I’m not setting any ultimatums but having that extra time to reflect, over the past months, has got me thinking about the next stage of my life, after football. It is up to me to force my way back into the starting line-up. That starts on Wednesday and whether I get nine or 90 minutes, I’m willing to do whatever I can to help set up that tie with Celtic.
Mark Quigley has scored over 70 goals in more than 290 League of Ireland matches. A winner of the 2012 Airtricity Player of the Year, he is now in his second spell with@stpatsfc
