Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
White heat’s on for Matty and Blues in cup deciders
LINFIELD’S Matthew Clarke is bracing himself for a hi-octane shootout with Dundalk in tonight’s first leg of the Unite The Union Champions Cup.
Cynics may have labelled the two legged cross border final between the Irish League and League of Ireland champions little more than a
“glorified friendly”.
But with silverware, €50,000 for the winners and bragging rights at stake, Clarke expects a no-holds barred skirmish in Belfast and in Monday night’s return leg at Oriel Park.
“There’s a cup to play for, so it certainly won’t be a friendly,” he said. “At Linfield you approach every game the same.
“Regardless of the stature of any fixture this club plays, you have standards and you want to win, especially in a final against Dundalk.
“You’ve got a chance of getting one over the League of Ireland champions, so we definitely won’t be taking it lightly.
“It would be nice to come back up the road on Monday night with silverware. It’s a big incentive.”
Dundalk won the League of Ireland title for a fifth time in six years in September and were targeting an historic treble in Sunday’s FAI Cup, but fell agonisingly short in a penalty shootout defeat to Shamrock Rovers.
Linfield left-back Clarke said: “We’re aware how good Dundalk are and what they have achieved in recent years, so we expect a tough challenge.
“They are a full-time outfit and have some smashing players – the likes of Michael Duffy, Patrick
Hoban and (Patrick) Mceleney – so we know what we’re up against.
“Having said that, we also have quality players and confidence is high, so I think it’ll be a good tie.”
The last time Linfield faced a League of Ireland team in a competitive fixture was when they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Cork City in the Europa League three years ago. With the second leg at Oriel Park on Monday night, Clarke knows the importance of securing a positive result in South Belfast.
“You want to stay in the tie,” he said. “It’s important we’re going to Dundalk on Monday with everything to play for.”