Football mad town praying for an early Christmas present
THIS is it. Make or break. Do or die. It has been quite the year for Dundalk FC but just how well 2016 is remembered will be determined by what happens in the Netanya Stadium in Israel on Thursday night.
What Stephen Kenny’s side have achieved so far in Europe this season has been nothing short of extraordinary but it could yet be even more spectacular.
Progression to the last 32 of the Europa League, as well as the chance for a possible glamour tie early in February, is still very much a possibility.
While Dundalk will require a favour of some description from Zenit St Petersburg away to AZ Alkmaar to take this wonderful European adventure into 2017, the prospect of going to Israel and getting a result shouldn’t faze them.
After all they have already beaten Maccabi Tel Aviv this season and while it took a late Ciaran Kilduff goal to seal that 1-0 victory at Tallaght Stadium at the end of September, if anything the scoreline flattered the visitors that night as Dundalk completely bossed the game and were rarely threatened.
It also must be remembered that Dundalk have a history of getting good results on their travels. It was away to FH Hafnarfjordur in July after all that they negotiated that crucial first hurdle while their performance in Warsaw a month later would have warranted a win but for the fact they had to chase a second goal.
Even in seasons gone by their best European performances have been away to BATE Borisov in 2015 and away to Hajduk Split where they won in 2014.
What Stephen Kenny’s side have achieved this season has been groundbreaking but legendary status awaits them if they can become the first ever Irish club to make the knock-out stages of a European competition in their current formats.
There are numerous reasons why a result is important on Thursday.
Firstly, it would be heartbreaking after all the players have given this season for them to have to look back at this Europa League campaign with regret. Bar perhaps Zenit’s second goal in Tallaght in October, every time they have conceded has pretty much been down to a mistake. If you were cut open and outclassed you’d say ‘fair enough’ but coughing up cheap goals the way the side have been has to hurt.
Then there’s the ‘what might have been moments’. Dane Massey’s header that came back off the post that would have seen Dundalk go 2-0 up on Zenit St Petersburg in Tallaght is the one that stands out but there were many more, including Patrick McEleney’s shot that came back off the crossbar to deny the Lilywhites an equaliser and share of the spoils at the Petrovsky Stadium a fortnight later.
Progression would also give Dundalk’s future European hopes a real shot in the arm by boosting their co-efficient to the extent where they would have a great chance of being seeded for next season’s Champions League draw. While it’s easy to get caught up in the current campaign, a real sign of progress would be to make progression to the group stages of Europe a regular occurrence. That task becomes all the more easier when you don’t have to face Champions League regulars like BATE Borisov first time out.
The prize money for advancing on Thursday is also pretty tasty and in a year which has also seen the club end their long-running dispute over the lease of Oriel Park, the additional cash would do the club coffers no harm as they plot either a new stadium or the upgrade of their existing one.
Additional prize money of over €1 million could be secured on Thursday. Dundalk would earn €300,000 for finishing as group runners-up in Group D, while they would also pocket an additional €500,000 for reaching the round of 32. In order to get there they would either need to win (€360,000) or draw (€120,000) while there is an additional market pool of €160m based on TV rights that they would be entitled to a portion of. Then when you add in additional ticket sales etc from another game day it all adds up to one hell of a pay day.
Of course, what will matter most to the players is sheer pride.
They’ll still be hurting from their below par display against AZ last time out but whenever there has been a sub-standard performance in Europe they have responded brilliantly. They were flattered to only lose 1-0 away to BATE Borisov in the summer but responded with arguably the best ever performance by an Irish side in Europe by beating the Belarusians 3-0 in Tallaght.
Then when they had another disappointment against Legia Warsaw at the Aviva Stadium, they responded by giving the Polish champions an almighty scare in the away leg in what was undoubtedly the most hostile atmosphere any of these players are likely to experience.
Of course, Maccabi Tel Aviv have progression hopes of their own and will be a different prospect on home soil but Dundalk know enough about them to limit their threat and create chances of their own.
All they can do is look after themselves and hope Zenit either beat or draw with AZ. A win would take Dundalk through if AZ fail to win at the AFAS Stadion while if the Dutch side lose then a score draw will do Stephen Kenny’s side.
Either way they must score but that’s not a prospect that will frighten them.
They have to believe Zenit will finish Group D with a 100% record. The Russians have already beaten AZ 5-0 on home soil so should have enough to beat John van den Brom’s side even if they do play in a lower gear.
History, achievement and glory await Dundalk and if they get the job done like a whole country believes they can then the Feast of the Immaculate Conception will be a feast of an entirely different prospect in Dundalk.
Christmas will have come early to a football mad town.
It’s the present all anyone really wants and one that this side can very much deliver.