Kenny confident Dundalk will hit the target in Cyprus
DUNDALK face AEK Larnaca at the AEK Arena today knowing they must score to progress to the third qualifying round of the Europa League. It’s a tough ask, but Dundalk have form. This will be the 24th European outing since Stephen Kenny took charge in 2014 and the Lilywhites have scored in 10 of 11 previous games away from home. When they reached the group stages of this competition in 2016 they scored away to AZ Alkmaar, Zenit St Petersburg and Maccabi Tel Aviv, not to mention strikes against BATE Borisov and Hadjuk Split on their own patch before that. The tepid 0-0 draw in the first leg at Oriel Park was a disappointment but Kenny knows his squad has the belief to take this challenge head on. ‘We have the capacity to score goals away from home in Europe, we have done it before and we will go with the ambition of doing so again,’ he said. ‘Nothing is guaranteed. You might score and you might get hammered! That is irrelevant. Every game is different, it presents a different challenge than other times before. ‘This is a big challenge for us. We are playing in 35 degree heat against a Larnaca team with good European pedigree but the players are looking forward to the game and they have ambitions themselves.’ Midfielder Chris Shields has been in fine form this season and in the last couple of months his influence on the team has been telling. He is one of only two players to pre-date Kenny’s arrival — John Mountney is the other — and has seen it all over the last four seasons. ‘The first goal in the game will be big. If we can get it we can put them on the back foot,’ the Dubliner reckons. ‘We have a good record of scoring under Stephen away from home in Europe. Hopefully we can continue that.’