Europa Conference League, third qualifying round, first leg
Viking FK (Norway) v Sligo Rovers
Viking stadium, 6pm
Sligo Rovers manager John Russell, out on the pitch after dumping Motherwell out of Europe, summed up the magnitude of the club earning the right to journey across the North Sea.
“We are doing our best at the moment but our hands are tied with finances and the way the league is being run,” said Russell. “We need investment. We need Government funding.”
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They need eyes on them. Sligo head to Stavanger, the Oil Capital of Norway, with a clogged midfield as Russell’s side seek to keep the tie alive come a second leg at the The Showgrounds.
Last week, a Scottish club underestimated them and early indications are that Viking might as well. The “Old British” line has reared its head once again.
An international window rarely slides past without some cliché-ridden quotes about the physical ‘UK team’ staying true to their football roots. So says the Swedish, sorry, Norwegian media as Viking seek to continue the momentum gained from an impressive win over Sparta Prague.
Injury to Zlatko Tripic provides a chink of light for Rovers but it will require something special from Aidan Keena and big Shane Blaney to reach a play-off against Dunajská Streda of Slovakia or FCSB from Romania.
Stranger things have happened. Just ask Motherwell.
“You have to hurt,” said Sligo midfielder Adam McDonnell after Wexford knocked Rovers out of the FAI Cup last weekend. “But at the same time, as a team we have to look to Thursday and channel it that way.”
