General
- Thursday July 14th, 2016 @ 11:10
Team News: Dinamo Minsk V St Pat's Ath
St Patrick's Athletic head into the second qualifying round of the 2016 UEFA Europa League as they face a daunting first leg away to Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk (kick-off 4.30pm, Irish time).
Liam Buckley's side completed their pre-match training session in the Traktor Stadium in Minsk on Wednesday with Buckley reporting that both goalkeeper Conor O'Malley and midfielder Jack Bayly would not be available for selection.
Speaking after completing training, Buckley told stpatsfc.com that his squad were in good form ahead of facing Dinamo, who currently lie in third place in the Belarusian league, nine points off leaders BATE Borisov.
"The travel to Minsk was a long journey for the squad, but the players are in good spirits ahead of the game,"Buckley admitted.
After defeating Luxembourg side AS Jeunesse Esch in the last round, Buckley admitted that his side were expecting a tougher match in comparsion to their first round opponents.
"We know it's a step up in opposition compared to the last round. Dinamo have a huge history of competing in European competition so we know that we're in for a tough test this evening. The aim is to try and compete with them as best as possible and in European football, if you can keep the tie alive heading in to the second leg, you have a chance."
"Our aim will be to do that and try and get them back to Richmond Park where we've a good record in years gone by."
