Uefa Europa League preliminary round, second leg: Cliftonville (0) v Barry Town (0) (tonight, 7.45pm)
CLIFTONVILLE legend Tony Bell may get more than he bargained for when he turns up at Solitude tonight.
Bell, who scored the winner in the famous Irish Cup final win over Portadown in 1979, will be guest of honour along with rest of his former team-mates at the north Belfast club tonight when they take on Barry Town in the Europa League.
And so keen is present day manager Paddy McLaughlin that the Reds get on the scoresheet and make it past their Welsh opponents, he is fantasising about the likes of Bell reeling back the years at Solitude.
Cliftonville were rarely flustered in their scoreless draw in Cardiff last Thursday night and McLaughlin says he and his squad are buzzing at the prospect of playing the return leg in front of a home crowd tonight.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” he said.
“Away days are always difficult, especially when you’ve to spend a couple of days or so away from home. So coming back to a big home crowd on a big night at Solitude will be great and the lads are chomping at the bit.
“Having the squad from ’79 there in the crowd will be a big boost for the atmosphere and I’m thinking of telling a couple of the lads to bring their boots, because we may need them before the night is out!”
While the Reds were good value for their draw in the first leg and ensured Barry rarely presented an attacking threat, they arguably should have come back to Belfast with at least one away goal, with Conor McMenamin and Rory Donnelly both going close.
McLaughlin will be hoping those chances don’t come back to haunt his side: “We dominated the majority of the game in Cardiff and we deserved at least the one goal, but it wasn’t to be,” he added.
“The tie is set up nicely now for a cracking game at Solitude and the supporters have their part to play in making sure it’s a good night.
“We’re fully concentrated on the task at hand and we’ll give everything to ensure we progress, but Barry Town will be thinking the same about themselves. They showed last week that they’re well organised and can defend well.”
The winners of tonight’s game will advance to the first qualifying round and a tie with Norwegian side Haugesund, which is worth the far from insignificant amount of £410,000. However, McLaughlin says he and his players have other incentives on their mind.
“Obviously, the club are invested financially in this competition and a figure like that is a big reward, but as players and coaches we’re not thinking about that.
“We see this competition as an opportunity to grow and develop as players and coaches, and a tie against a team from Norway would only help that process. But, again, Barry will be thinking the same thing.”
Also tonight, Ballymena United travel to the Faroe Islands hoping to cement their 2-0 first leg victory over NSI Runavik and advance through a round of European football for the first time in their history.
"The draw gave us a chance and now we have given ourselves an opportunity," said Ballymena manager David Jeffrey.
