EUROPA LEAGUE QUALIFYING ROUND ONE - DUNDALK v CS GREVENMACHER FAHRUDIN KUDUZOVIC has backed Dundalk to finish the job they started in Luxembourg when they host CS Grevenmacher in tonight's second leg at Oriel Park. The home side go into the game with three away goals in the bag following an epic draw at the Stade Josy Barthel.
And now that Dundalk have seen the Luxembourg outfit at first hand, Kuduzovic is confident they can add more goals to their aggregate score.
“After playing them, we’re confident we can score at Oriel. The pitch is a lot smaller and they won’t be used to the surface. If we pressure them they will make mistakes and I think in the forward positions we have players who can hurt them. They didn’t look too great at the back so I think it’s set up nicely for us going into the second leg.”
One thing that Dundalk won’t have to contend with is the conditions they faced in Luxembourg. Despite the game kicking off at 6.30pm the temperature remained in the mid 20s and the Bosnian striker admits it played a major part in Grevenmacher coming from two goals behind to lead 3-2.
“We went into the game blind from A to Z really. From the stadium, the pitch, the players and, of course, we didn’t know exactly what the climate would be. We dealt with it very well for an hour, but the heat took its toll.”
CS Grevenmacher arrived in Dundalk yesterday to train on the pitch at Oriel Park which their coach Marc Thomé described as “catastrophic”.
“We have similar pitches in Luxembourg that were made years ago, but they are completely different than the one here. It is too hard. We have technical players who are fast so it will hopefully not be a problem, it just makes it more uncomfortable to play on.”