COVERAGE OF FRIDAY’S match with Waterford was dominated by the John Sheridan/Vinny Perth post-match comments, and that perhaps distracted from the fact that it was another disappointing evening for Dundalk on the pitch.
The reigning champions came back from 2-0 down, with some late drama seeing them earn a point at Oriel Park.
The Lilywhites have been crowned Premier Division champions in five of the past six seasons, but a considerable improvement in fortune is needed if they are to retain the title this time around.
They have not won a league game since the season’s resumption, and dropped points in four of their eight matches overall this season.
With 10 fixtures to play, Vinny Perth’s side are eight points behind Shamrock Rovers in third and it could have been worse had Stephen Bradley’s men secured the win they expected against St Patrick’s Athletic on Sunday.
The Waterford result prompted Perth to admit that there was “a lack of confidence within the group,” while a couple of injuries to important players haven’t helped matters.
🛬 We have arrived in the Hungarian capital ahead of tomorrow night’s UEFA Champions League tie with @NKCelje.#CmonTheTown #UCL pic.twitter.com/8p3gC9ORrC
— DundalkFC (@DundalkFC) August 18, 2020
Dundalk will be hoping they can defy their below-par domestic form when they meet Celje this evening (live on RTÉ2, kick-off 6pm Irish time) in the first qualifying round of the Champions League.
The game will be played in Ujpest, Hungary due to Covid-19 restrictions, and won’t feature the traditional two legs owing to the current climate, with extra-time and penalties to take place if required.
It will be Dundalk’s third time playing a European match in Hungary. In 1991, a Ricky McEvoy goal and an impressive performance in nets by Alan O’Neill helped them earn an impressive 1-1 draw with Kispest Honved, though a 2-0 loss in the return leg ended their hopes of a glamour tie against Sampdoria in the next round, with the Italians ultimately edging the Hungarians 4-3 on aggregate.
The Lilywhites had a less memorable experience in Budapest in 1967, as they were beaten by Vasas 8-1 on the night and 9-1 on aggregate.
Like their Irish counterparts, the Slovenian champions have endured a turbulent time of late, albeit for different reasons. Their season had been due to start earlier this month, but it was postponed and is now set to begin on 22 August, after three players tested positive for coronavirus.
That said, Celje shouldn’t be unduly affected by that issue, given that their 2019-20 season only concluded on 22 July, as they pipped both Maribor and Olimpija to the title by a margin of two points.
Dundalk might ordinarily view this game as a winnable tie. They have more European experience and a far superior Uefa coefficient than their rivals — according to their official website, tonight will be Dundalk’s 75th European tie, while their opponents have 25 games under their belt, none of which have previously been at Champions League level.
In addition, Slovenia, with a population of around two million, is smaller than Ireland.
Yet the Lilywhites’ below-par domestic form doesn’t exactly inspire confidence going into this crucial fixture.
Nonetheless, Dundalk have done their homework, undertaking a video analysis session on their opponents on Sunday, while former England underage international Nathan Oduwa — who joined the Irish champions in March — has first-hand experience of Slovenian football, having spent 18 months with Olimpija Ljubljana between 2017 and 2018.
“By all accounts, they are a good side,” defender Sean Hoare told Dundalk FC. “Nathan has played against them before and said they’re a possession-based team, but we’d fancy our chances against anyone. We’ll do our homework and we’ll be ready.
“It’s going to be an away fixture for both teams now. I know when a team comes to Oriel it can be very intimidating and very tough to play at in front of a packed house
“Hopefully, it’s a nice stadium and a nice pitch. It’s a fair venue for both of us and hopefully, we can use this to our advantage. The fact that it’s only over only one leg is another change. Usually, teams suss each other out in the first leg. That won’t happen this year so it’ll be all guns blazing.”
The winner of the tie faces the prospect of a home fixture against either Norway’s Molde — the side that were managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before he got the Man United job — or Finnish outfit KuPS.
“It’d be brilliant to have home advantage, especially if it was at Oriel Park,” added Hoare. “Nobody really likes coming here at all. We’ve seen teams come here and struggle so we’d fancy our chances against anyone if we can get through this round.”
For the losers, meanwhile, the consolation of a spot in the Europa League second qualifying round awaits.
