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Forward Pat Hoban has insisted that Dundalk feel safe after flying for their Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna just days after an alleged terrorist attack in the Austrian capital.
The SSE Airtricity League Premier Division team will face Rapid tomorrow night at the Weststadion (a minute’s silence will be observed before kick-off and the players will wear black armbands) with the incident on Monday night, in which a A gunman killed three people and injured several more. , casting a shadow over the country.
Rapid CEO Christoph Peschek said there would be increased security at the stadium, but authorities had assured the club that it was safe for play to continue.
When asked if there had been a reluctance within the team to make the trip, Hoban said: “No. They gave us the green light to come and play, and that’s our job, so we have no other choice.
“Obviously, seeing everything that happened is a bit scary, but the reaction of the people in Vienna, the police and the security we have here makes us feel safe, so we feel safe to be here.
“Obviously what happened is terrible and the guys were obviously scared to see what happened from what they saw on social media. It was horrible to watch.
“All you can do is offer condolences to the people who live here. It’s just tragic.”
The Group B rivals will face both yet to score a point and after the defeats of Premier League Arsenal and Norwegian Mold, Dundalk knows that must change overnight.
Dundalk passed up the opportunity to secure European football for next season when a 1-1 draw at St Patrick’s Athletic on Sunday left a top-three result up for grabs. They will host Sligo on Sunday, and that remains the top priority for coach Filippo Giovagnoli.
However, a team that held the Gunners for 42 minutes at Emirates Stadium last week before falling in a 3-0 loss is far from throwing in the towel in Europe.
When asked if they think they could get a result in Vienna, Hoban said: “We have to do it, we have no choice. We have no points after two games.
“I felt we definitely deserved something against Molde, they were very good in the second half, but Rapid Vienna is a better team, in my opinion anyway, than Molde.”
“We are playing in the biggest competition that we are likely to play in our lives, and the quality of the opposition you are playing against is always quite high.
“Hopefully we can put on a performance and get out of here with something. If that’s a win, brilliant; if it’s a draw, so be it.”
Defender Max Ullmann urged Rapid, who currently ranks second in the Austrian Bundesliga behind RB Salzburg, to leave nothing to chance.
He said: “We have to see that we match the performances of the Bundesliga. We know the importance of the game and we will give everything for a victory at home.”
Head coach Didi Kühbauer added: “We are up against an Irish team that doesn’t actually play very typical Irish football, they also keep the ball in their ranks.
“Still, we have to accept that we are favorites in this game and we have to take three points to stay in this competition.”
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