Kenny still has sights on last 32

MORE than a few eyebrows were raised across Europe earlier this month when Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny set a target for his side to qualify for the last 32 of the Europa League.

The lowest ranked team in the competition by some distance, few gave them a chance of even taking a point in a difficult Group D.

After an heroic performance earlier this month against AZ Alkmaar which yielded a history-making draw though, Kenny believes his side can take a giant leap towards their goal of a place in the latter stages with victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Tallaght Stadium this Thursday night (kickoff 8.05pm, live on eirSport).

The Israeli side come into the game in desperate need of a win after blowing a 3-0 lead in their opening Europa League game against Zenit St Petersburg to lose 4-3.

While Shota Arveladze’s side will be hot favourites to get off the mark in Tallaght, Kenny insists his side are well aware of the prize at stake for a win.

‘They’re a very capable team and we’ll have to play a bit differently again like we have in other European matches but we understand that.

‘The way I look at it is a home victory puts us on four points and leaves Maccabi on zero. A win will either put us either first or second in the ground.

‘That’s the motivation and now we just have to prepare accordingly,’ he said.

Dundalk have enjoyed some memorable nights in Tallaght to date but Kenny is hoping for another one at the Dublin 24 venue this Thurdsay.

‘We’ve good memories of playing there between winning the league and the BATE game, which was one of the great European nights in Irish football history.

‘We have to get up to speed quickly on Maccabi though. There’s a lot of new names to take in and new systems.

‘Players have to become familiar with names quickly and there’s different languages to deal with. All of a sudden this season you’ve Icelandic names, Belarusian names, Polish names, Dutch names and Israeli names.’

Maccabi come into the game on a high after a superb 5-0 victory over neighbours Hapoel in the Tel Aviv derby on Sunday.

Kenny watched the game and admits to being hugely impressed by the Israelis.

‘They were brilliant on Sunday, really quite exceptional.

‘They were in the group stages of the Champions League last year and won the league three years in-a-row before last year so they’re a good side.

‘They’ve obviously the most resources in Israel and a big squad. They’ve been rotating a fair bit recently but they were quite impressive in the Tel Aviv derby and played really well against Zenit, which was a bit of a bizaare match.’

Kenny has marked out wide player Tal Ben Chaim, who has scored 10 goals already for Maccabi this season in 12 league and Europa League matches, as the main threat for the visitors but insists they have plenty of quality throughout their ranks.

‘Ben Chaim is an exceptional player who can play on either flank. Sometimes he plays on the right with Benayoun on the left and sometimes he’s on the left with Scarione the Argentine on the right.

‘He’s their main man but they have a Bosnian midfield called Medunjanin who is very good as well and a Nigerian called Igiebor who is also very good.

‘They also have players who we’d know well like Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea and Yossi Benayoun, who was at Liverpool.

‘They also have an Icelandic striker called Kjartansson who has come in recently and got a few goals. The rest are all Israeli internationals, while they also have the Serbian goalkeeper Rajkovic, who played against Ireland recently.’

For the game Dundalk will be without the suspended Stephen O’Donnell, with Chris Shields expected to start in his place. Sean Gannon and John Mountney have been struggling with groin problems this week but Kenny expects both players to be passed fit.

In what is a busy period for the club, they will also face Derry City in the FAI Cup semi-final at Oriel Park on Sunday (kick-off 1.45pm, live on RTÉ Two) with the manager not too pleased about the quick turnaround from Thursday night.

‘That’s like playing a match Tuesday night and Friday morning because it’s an early kick off on the Sunday.

‘It’s very early so that makes it difficult. It’s another challenge for us but I’m sure we’ll rise to it,’ he said.