Uefa Europa Conference League first qualifying round, second leg
Crusaders (2) v Haka (2) (Thursday, 8pm)
CRUSADERS midfield dynamo Philip Lowry knows his side have “every shot” at progressing to the next round as his side meet Finnish foes FC Haka once more in the first round second leg Uefa Conference League at Seaview.
The sides drew 2-2 last Thursday in a thrilling encounter in Valkeakoski City, with Jordan Forsythe and Ross Clarke scoring a stunner apiece against the 10-man hosts, and Lowry knows his side have earned a great opportunity.
“The goal, I suppose, was always to be still in the tie come the final whistle and have something to challenge for the in the second leg, and we achieved that with the draw,” he said.
“We probably could have nicked it with one or two great chances and I obviously had one disallowed, but that’s football and we were very happy with how we stood up firness-wise to a side half-way through their domestic campaign.”
With the side arriving back on these shores last Friday morning, it was back to training on Saturday, with a final session taking place on Tuesday night.
The Limavady native believes it is the football and not the fitness that is most difficult to counter in pre-season.
“We have had a great pre-season with a real good buzz around the place, particularly after the Larne win [in the Charity Shield],” he added.
“I would say we are still a bit raw with our touch and control and that is the same for all clubs this early in the season, but with every game it gets better, so I’m sure we will be well improved come Thursday.”
Looking ahead to tonight’s game, Lowry acknowledges that the removal of the away-goal rule will likely not help his side after managing to score twice in Finland.
With the unpopular rule scrapped, it means the tie is like a cup-final with “winner takes all” the only rule regardless of the scoreline.
The visitors flattered to deceive on their home patch last week, and bar a five minute spell where they scored twice, catching Crusaders cold, they failed to really trouble Jonny Tuffey in goal.
Haka will also be keen to keep all 11 players on the pitch this week having lost arguably their best player on the night, Janne-Pekka Laine, to a red card for some sloppy challenges. This week’s Czech referee, Jan Petrik, will be expecting best behaviour.
Despite this, the Crues’ midfielder still expects a battle in tonight’s meeting.
“There are no surprises this week, whatever we got away with last week or vice versa has been snubbed out,” he said.
“I think they were maybe a little surprised by how keen we were to hold onto the ball and attack. This week, I think they will want a more physical encounter to match us, but as ever we’re ready for the fight.”
Crusaders’ boss Stephen Baxter has a healthy squad to pick from and certainly has a number of new signings who may come into the squad after going with a “tried and tested” approach in last week’s lineup.
The sides know if they win tonight, a second round tie with Rosenborg of Norway awaits.
Bookmakers are making the north Belfast side slight favourites for the tie and, if Philip Lowry, is on form it would be hard to bet against.
