Penalty hero Mark wants to keep Well’s European run going
Mark O’Hara savoured both the highs and the lows on his first-ever European away day last week.
Now the midfielder is eager to play his part in helping Motherwell battle all the way to the Europa League group stage.
O’Hara was bold enough to put his hand up for the first kick in the shoot-out after Coleraine had fought back from two goals down to take the tie to penalties.
It was the former Dundee man’s first-ever involvement in a spot-kick decider, but he calmly netted to send Well on their way, with Trevor Carson’s three saves securing their passage through to the third-qualifying round.
They travel to Israel this week to face Hapoel Be’er Sheva, with the winner taking on either Viktoria Plzen or Sonderjyske in the play-off round.
And O’Hara can’t wait to get back into the European arena.
He said: “These are the games you want to be involved in as a professional footballer. Europe is a goal for everyone, so it’s definitely not a chore playing two games a week.
“The way we ended up winning the other night had everyone buzzing by the end, and now we’re going to Israel.
“We know who we could potentially get in the next round, so the path is there for us to progress if we apply ourselves properly. There’s a real incentive for us to achieve our goal of going into the group stage.
“That was the first time
I had taken a penalty in a shoot-out and I thought I would be fazed but I wasn’t.
“I was actually more nervous after I scored watching the other penalties. The goalie was showing me that side as well, which made up my mind.”
The only negative for O’Hara was conceding the foul for the penalty that started Coleraine’s fightback. The ex-Killie man felt it was harsh from Finnish whistler, Antti Munukka, and warned they would need to be more streetwise in future ties.
He added: “I was very, very surprised it was given. I thought the boy threw himself to the ground, which was very unsportsmanlike.
“It was very soft as he was not getting anywhere near it. But that is what you need to expect from referees abroad. As soon as there’s any sort of contact they give it. In the Premiership that would never be given.
“Coleraine were launching the ball forward and trying to buy fouls. We had to be very careful. So it was a learning curve in that sense.
“I think we will have to be very cautious of that in the next round.”
Before that, there is the small matter of a trip to Pittodrie today to take on an Aberdeen side in red-hot form.
“They’ve made a few good signings, so we’re under no illusions that it will be a very tough game,” added O’Hara.
“Previously we’ve been the favourites in most of our games, apart from against Celtic, so going up there as underdogs might suit us.”