[ad_1]
Dundalk manager Filippo Giovagnoli admitted that he would love to meet José Mourinho face to face after his team qualifies for the Europa League group stage.
The League champions of Ireland enjoyed a 3-1 win over KI Klaksvik of the Faroe Islands at Aviva Stadium on Thursday night, putting Dundalk in Friday’s UEFA draw for qualification. Europe.
A host of top European talent potentially awaits the County Louth team that could face teams like Celtic or Rangers, Benfica or Braga.
Arsenal, Tottenham, Napoli, Roma, AC Milan the list is endless as the Lilywhites will be drawn in a group of four and play the European qualifiers this side of the New Year.
“I would love to play against José Mourinho. He is an icon in soccer, just meeting him on the pitch would be great,” Giovagnoli smiled after the match at the Dublin venue.
“I’m going to watch the draw with [assistant manager] Giuseppe [Rossi]. Is incredible.”
Truth be told, the Dundalk manager wasn’t overly impressed with his team’s performance at the vacant Lansdowne Road spot.
A poor performance against the Faroe Islands part-time team, it took Dundalk 33 minutes to break the deadlock as Sean Murray led his team to the lead. And there came a serendipitous second just after the break when the visiting goalkeeper released a clanger to allow Daniel Cleary to double the lead.
And just when Dundalk looked comfortable, the team seemed to fade and had to endure a period of sustained pressure that eventually led to a KI goal when Ole Erik Midtskogen shot home from 20 yards in the 66th minute.
Increasingly, the Faroese team pressed for a draw and just from a few good goals and obvious missed opportunities, the Lilywhites could have easily found their two goal lead disappearing.
Fortunately for the Irish League team, defense turned into attack in the 79th minute as substitute Daniel Kelly ran clear on the counter before calmly scoring the decisive goal to calm the manager’s nerves.
“The important thing tonight is the result. We have made history,” said Giovagnoli.
“I’m happy. I’m not happy with the performance, but I’m happy with the result.
“You can’t be happy as a coach with that performance. The feeling is unbelievable, but I’m a bit upset with the performance.
“Tonight we were so nervous. We really felt the game and it’s normal. It was a final, such an important game.
“We think about the result and we don’t stick to the plan. With 2-0 we fell behind; you can’t do that. You can’t give that amount of field to any team in the world.”
The Dundalk manager has been on the job for just over a month after replacing Vinny Perth, who left after the club’s departure from the Champions League in August, however, he was quick to acknowledge the team’s vast experience and gave credit to those who were standing. even the pressure when things got tough in the second half.
“The experience of the players was really important. Gary Rogers, Brian Gartland were good when we were under pressure.
“We should have controlled the game, we were able to do it but we did not consolidate our style. At the end of the night we made history but now we will work, we will work, we will work.”
While Dundalk’s immediate European adventure is assured (the Lilywhites will play at least six more games in the Europa League this season), the club must improve its league form to ensure it has another expedition to plan for next season.
After winning four of its first five games, Dundalk has since only managed to secure five points in its next six league games since returning to the game after the Covid-imposed break.
And Giovagnoli admitted that he is already looking ahead to Sunday’s game at home to Finn Harps as his team looks to move from their current fifth place in the table to the top and European rankings.
“We have another seven [games] and they are all final for us because to qualify for Europe we may have to win them all, so my mind is already on Sunday.
The players, for their part, will have the day off tomorrow where they will know who they will face in the Europa League
But then there are five league games to plan before Dundalk once again lines up in the Europa League group stage, as it did in 2016, with the first game scheduled for October 22, which will be their seventh game in three weeks.
[ad_2]