Europa Conference League Preview: Derry City -v- Tobol Kostanay

Adam O'Reilly in action for Derry City against Drogheda United

Adam O'Reilly in action for Derry City against Drogheda United Credit: John-Paul McGinley (ETPhotos)

DERRY CITY

Derry City boss Ruaidhrí Higgins insists his side are ‘excited’ ahead of their Europa Conference League second-leg against Tobol Kostanay at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday evening (kick-off is at 7.45pm).

The Candystripes trail the tie 1-0 after the first leg in Kazakhstan last week.

But City had chances to score on a relatively poor pitch in Eastern Europe so they will take confidence from their travels.

“It is a game to be really excited about and we have given ourselves a real platform to go and qualify,” Higgins said.

“The first leg went exactly as we expected it to go. They had a high press, were aggressive and played on the front foot.

“Their front three are really talented footballers and have a specific way of playing. I felt that we nullified a lot of their threats and stuck to our principles. After 15 minutes or so we settled into our rhythm and I thought it was a good performance.

“It doesn’t matter if we get the first goal in the 5th minute or the 85th minute. It’s not overly important to score early as long as we score. We have the players with a cutting edge and in form – that gives us a real chance.”

TOBOL KOSTANAY

They may be struggling at home but Tobol Kostanay has shown that they are no pushovers in European competition this season.



The Kazakhs saw off Swiss giants Basel in the last round of the competition thanks to a stunning 3-1 win away from home.

That success gave them the platform to qualify at home despite losing the second leg 2-1 at home.

But in the meantime they have struggled for form domestically.

They have lost their last two league games since their European run started and now sit seventh in the Kazakhstan top-flight.

To compound matters, they are now 13 points off third-placed Astana who occupy the final European qualification spot for next season.

But they showed Derry City last week that they are a threat and will be confident that they can qualify for the play-off round.



Their front three of Islam Chesnokov, Serges Deble and Miljan Vukadinovic are their biggest threats in an attacking sense so Derry must keep a lid on their capabilities.

Referee: Peter Kralović (Slovakia).

 

MATCH STATS

The winners of this tie are set to play Czech Republic outfit Viktoria Plzen in the play-off round of the Europa Conference League. The Czechs lead Maltese side Gzira United 4-0 on aggregate from the first-leg last week.

Derry City’s defeat to Tobol in last week’s first leg was their first loss since June 26 when they fell to a 1-0 defeat away to Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium.

Since beating Basel in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie in Switzerland, Tobol have lost three of their last four games. Their only win came last week against the Candystripes while they have lost their two league games since.

They currently sit seventh in the Kazakhstani top-flight and are 13 points off third-placed FC Astana in the final European place. But their top scorer Serges Deble is a threat with five goals scored in the league this season.

PREDICTION

Derry City 2-1 Tobol Kostanay (Derry City to win on penalties)

 

Derry City

Injured: Colm Whelan, Ciaron Harkin, Sam Todd.

Doubtful: Patrick McEleney, Cameron Dummigan.

Suspended: None.

 

Tobol Kostanay

Injured: N/A.

Doubtful: N/A.

Suspended: None. 

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