Inspiration from McLeish pushing O’Hara to create a shock in Israel
GROWING up as a young footballer in East Renfrewshire, Mark O’Hara didn’t have to look very far for a shining example of ‘a local boy done good’ on the European stage.
A friend of the family was none other than Alex McLeish, the Barrhead-born player who lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Gothenburg with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen in 1983.
McLeish went on to manage Motherwell, where O’Hara now plys his trade, with Big Eck overseeing a glamour two-legged UEFA Cup tie against the mighty Borussia Dortmund in 1994.
Now O’Hara would dearly love to pen his own modest chapter in Barrhead’s European football story by helping the Steelmen past Hapoel Be’er Sheva tonight and into the Europa League play-off round.
‘Alex McLeish used to live next door to my dad growing up,’ said O’Hara.
‘Alex was ten or 15 years older than my dad but my dad was friends with his brother Ian and they are still in touch.
‘Alex was an inspiring character from Barrhead. As a young player, people pointed to him as an example.
‘I’ve met him a couple of times but I’ve not talked to him about Gothenburg.
‘But what he did at Aberdeen was great and he was such an important player in that team. If I could do even half of that I would be happy!’
The last time Hapoel Be’er Sheva hosted Scottish opposition, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers described it as the longest night of his managerial life.
Although the Israelis were trailing 5-2 from the first leg of a Champions League qualifier in Glasgow in August 2016, they took a surprise 2-0 lead at home in the Toto Turner Stadium and were only one goal away from knocking out the Parkhead side.
Because of lockdown in Israel, tonight’s match is being held at the Hamoshava Stadium in Petah Tikva, 70 miles north of Beer Sheva on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
And O’Hara is only too aware that, whatever the venue, Stephen Robinson’s side will face an equally tough tie.
‘I watched that Celtic game,’ he nodded. ‘We are under no illusions. If Celtic go out there to Israel and struggle against them, then it’s going to be a tricky tie for us.
‘Watching the Scotland national team game against Israel recently showed that their players are at a very good standard.
‘We have been sent individual reports but we are all expecting a tough game.
‘It will be the hottest match I’ve played in before. I think the temperatures will be in the 30s.’
In his last two matches, O’Hara has managed to keep his cool from the penalty spot. He scored in the 3-0 shoot-out win over Coleraine in the Europa League second qualifying round, then on Sunday notched the opening goal from 12 yards as Aberdeen were beaten 3-0 at Pittodrie.
After spending long hours practising in training, he will have no hesitation should he be put on the spot once more in Israel.
‘Penalties are actually a new thing for me,’ he said. ‘I’ve been spending time doing them after training the last few weeks ahead of the European games and the manager has seen that and put his trust in me.
‘We have all been staying behind as a team doing penalty-shootout situations ahead of the games.
‘That stood us in good stead for the game last Thursday night in Northern Ireland.
‘But I’ve been staying behind with a keeper and practising my own penalties.
‘I just focus on what I want to do and make sure I am assertive — and that has been effective for me.’
O’Hara believes Motherwell will go into any penalty shoot-out in Israel with extra confidence due to the presence of Trevor Carson in goals.
The Northern Irishman was a tour de force in Coleraine, saving all three of the opposition’s spot kicks.
Carson was well briefed beforehand about the likely direction of each taker but his performance still left his team-mates in awe.
‘I had a conversation with the goalkeeping coach and it’s scary the details they go into nowadays about penalty takers,’ said O’Hara.
‘He was telling me the details Trevor Carson had before Coleraine. They went into a lot of depth and it obviously worked.
‘But it was still unbelievable. Some of the saves he was making he had no right to make.
‘We would be full of confidence if we find ourselves in that situation again this week.’