Derry City Jamu CSKA Sofia di Kualifikasi Liga Eropa

Derry City bersiap menjamu klub asal Bulgaria, CSKA Sofia, dalam pertandingan leg kedua babak kualifikasi pertama Liga Eropa UEFA di Stadion Ryan McBride Brandywell pada Kamis malam, 16 Juli 2026. Tuan rumah bertekad membalikkan ketertinggalan agregat 2-3 setelah menelan kekalahan tipis pada pertemuan pertama di Sofia pekan lalu.

Kubu tamu menghadapi kendala besar menjelang laga di Irlandia Utara setelah dua pemain tim nasional Belarus milik mereka, kiper Fyodor Lapoukhov dan gelandang Max Ebong, dipastikan absen akibat masalah visa dari otoritas Inggris Raya. Perwakilan CSKA Sofia mengonfirmasi bahwa seluruh dokumen telah diajukan tepat waktu namun kendala tersebut belum terselesaikan hingga jadwal keberangkatan tim.

Manajer Derry City, Tiernan Lynch, menegaskan bahwa skuad asuhannya tidak perlu merasa gentar saat menghadapi klub yang memiliki anggaran gaji besar serta rekrutan anyar seperti Stefano Sensi yang menerima 60.000 euro per bulan. Menurut Lynch, nama besar dan aspek finansial akan langsung sirna saat peluit sepak mula dibunyikan di lapangan.

"I'm not going to sit here and try and have arrogance about us because I don't think we've done enough to do that," ujar Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Lynch meminta anak-asuhnya untuk bermain penuh keyakinan dan memahami area kelemahan lawan yang bisa dimanfaatkan setelah mendapatkan informasi tambahan mengenai personel mereka pada laga pertama.

"What we have to do is understand the areas where we feel we can exploit them now that we have a little more knowledge of their personnel," kata Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Sang manajer juga menganalisis taktik mengejutkan serta formasi tidak terduga yang diterapkan oleh tim tamu pada pertandingan pertama yang sempat membingungkan barisan pertahanan timnya.

"Technically they are a very good team. They have some really good footballers and are a real threat. There were a couple of players we expected to play that didn't play.

We were probably taken aback by the shape they played. It wasn't the shape we were expecting them to play," ujar Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Kendati demikian, Lynch berharap atmosfer intimidatif dari para pendukung setia di Stadion Brandywell dapat memberikan tambahan moral dan ketenangan bagi skuad The Candystripes.

"So who knows what Thursday is going to bring from their end. There's a couple of elements for our game we need to get better at. We need to show a little bit more confidence and composure. Hopefully at home, with our own supporters behind us that intimidation factor that I think the Brandywell will bring, we will go into it with plenty of belief," kata Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Ia memotivasi para pemainnya dengan menyatakan bahwa di atas lapangan, perbedaan ukuran klub dan nilai moneter yang mencolok di antara kedua tim menjadi tidak berarti.

"We are where we are," ujar Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Lynch menegaskan bahwa status sejarah panjang CSKA Sofia yang pernah melaju hingga semifinal Piala Champions Eropa di masa lalu bukanlah alasan untuk merasa rendah diri.

"The two teams and clubs – all you have to do is look at the new stadium they've built. The difference in the club in terms of size and stature and the wage bill and the monetary value that goes with it but when you step onto that pitch it's 11 v. 11. I keep trying to tell the players that, no disrespect to CSKA but it's not Barcelona," kata Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Sisa laga di Bulgaria pada pekan lalu memberikan keyakinan bahwa skuad Derry City mampu bersaing dan menerapkan permainan mereka di level kompetisi Eropa.

"We've seen for the last 30 minutes of the game on Thursday night that we can play at this level and compete at this level. It's really important we don't show any disrespect but it's also important we try to impose our game," ujar Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Lynch juga menilai kurangnya pengalaman sebagian besar pemain di kancah Eropa kini bukan lagi menjadi beban setelah melewati pertandingan perdana.

"There's definitely things we felt we could have and should have done better. You also have to remember a lot of our players it was their first time playing in Europe. Now the monkey is off our back, I don't think there's any huge pressure on our shoulders.

I think we can go and enjoy the game in front of our own fans. As long as we give 100 percent, I think we will be okay," kata Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Satu gol telat di Sofia dinilai memberikan momentum serta landasan berharga bagi Derry City untuk mengejar ketertinggalan agregat di markas sendiri.

"There's definitely areas we feel we can exploit and we will cause them problems no doubt. It's in our hands as far as I'm concerned. That last goal gave us a bit of a platform.

Something to hang onto and get after. It's just managing the game," ujar Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Ia mewanti-wanti pasukannya agar tetap tenang serta tidak terburu-buru bermain menyerang secara sporadis sejak menit awal demi mengelola situasi pertandingan dengan cerdas.

"The fans will be there and it will be an electric atmosphere. You will want to go gung-ho and get after them. We have to manage that situation.

You can't win the game in the first 10 minutes but you can lose it. It's playing with our heads as well as our hearts," kata Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Lynch menambahkan bahwa atmosfer berisik dari suporter tim tamu pada leg pertama berhasil dikelola dengan sangat baik oleh para pemainnya, sehingga ia berharap pendukung Derry City dapat membalas hal serupa.

"The intimidation factor that their fans brought and how noisy they were. I thought our boys managed that brillianty. It's hugely iportant our fans recipriocate. It's a smaller ground, tighter ground, in your face and I think the more intimidating we can make that the better it will be for us," ujar Tiernan Lynch, Manajer Derry City.

Pernyataan resmi dari pihak CSKA Sofia juga menegaskan situasi mengenai kendala administrasi yang menimpa para pemain nasional Belarus mereka menjelang keberangkatan ke Irlandia Utara.

"CSKA menginformasikan bahwa saat ini pesepak bola kami dan pemain tim nasional Belarusia — Fyodor Lapoukhov dan Max Ebong — belum menerima visa yang diperlukan dari otoritas Inggris untuk perjalanan mereka ke Irlandia Utara. CSKA mengajukan semua dokumen yang diperlukan tepat waktu, tetapi masalah ini belum terselesaikan. Klub telah menginformasikan kepada semua institusi Bulgaria yang kompeten, serta UEFA, tentang situasi ini. Jika kedua pemain tidak menerima visa tepat waktu, mereka tidak akan dapat berpartisipasi dalam pertandingan leg kedua melawan 'Derry City' di babak kualifikasi pertama Liga Eropa, yang akan berlangsung pada 16 Juli," rilis pernyataan resmi CSKA Sofia.

Sebelumnya pada konferensi pers pra-pertandingan leg pertama di Stadion Nasional Vasil Levski, Lynch sempat mengakui minimnya informasi mendalam mengenai kekuatan terkini dari CSKA Sofia akibat perombakan skuad masif bernilai total 26,95 juta euro di bawah asuhan Hristo Yanev.

"I think the big thing is and the message I keep trying to get through to the players is probably two-fold," kata Tiernan Lynch dalam konferensi pers sebelum pertandingan.

Lynch meminta anak asuhnya untuk menikmati setiap momen dari pengalaman bertanding di level Eropa yang jarang terjadi.

"One, you have to enjoy every minute of these experiences. They don't come around very often so when you get decent ties like this, you have to enjoy it," tutur Tiernan Lynch.

Target awal yang dipatok oleh manajer adalah menjaga peluang agar agregat pertandingan tetap hidup hingga laga penentuan di markas Derry.

"The second message is we have to try and get this tie back to the Brandywell tomorrow night - that's very much what it is about for us," ucap Tiernan Lynch.

Meskipun lawan sempat melakoni empat laga uji coba pramusim, Lynch tetap menghormati reputasi CSKA Sofia sembari menumbuhkan kepercayaan diri pada kemampuan timnya sendiri.

"It's always difficult when you're going into games and don't know a huge amount about the opposition. We're kind of going off last year but we have to give them all the respect they deserve. At the same time we have to have enough confidence and belief in ourselves as a team that we can bring our game here also," kata Tiernan Lynch.

Di sisi lain, bek tengah Derry City, Patrick McClean, menyambut antusias laga kompetisi Eropa ini sebagai momentum penyegaran di tengah kritik atas performa domestik mereka yang tertahan di peringkat keenam klasemen sementara Liga Irlandia musim 2026.

"James was on the bench," kata Patrick McClean mengenang memori saat kakaknya berada di bangku cadangan ketika kedua klub terakhir kali bertemu pada musim 2009-2010.

Pemain berusia 29 tahun itu menyatakan bahwa kompetisi Eropa memberikan kesempatan bagi tim untuk memulai awal yang baru dan melupakan performa liga domestik untuk sementara waktu.

"The boys are all excited and ready to go. These European ties mean we’re putting the league to bed for a month and focusing on something else, giving us a fresh start." ujar Patrick McClean.

Fokus utama skuad adalah mengesampingkan hasil negatif di masa lalu dan memberikan performa terbaik agar para pendukung memiliki alasan untuk bersorak.

"We have to put everything behind us because there has been a lot of negative, and obviously rightly so we’re getting a lot of stick, but if we can go and put a good run together here then we can give the fans something to cheer about, which we haven’t done this season." tutur Patrick McClean.

Derry City yang membawa empat pemain baru termasuk Nick Twisk dan Ellis Chapman bertekad tampil maksimal tanpa meremehkan kekuatan lawan yang dihuni pemain berlabel internasional.

"CSKA Sofia were probably the team that we were looking at most and hoping we got them, and that’s no disrespect to them." kata Patrick McClean.

Disiplin tinggi dinilai menjadi kunci utama dalam pertandingan dua leg ini agar peluang lolos ke babak berikutnya tetap terbuka.

"We know we’re more than capable of getting a result, but it’s just about going there and making sure we keep the tie alive and get back to the Brandywell, where hopefully we’ll have a full house." ucap Patrick McClean.

McClean menambahkan bahwa timnya tidak bersikap jemawa dan sangat menyadari bahwa CSKA Sofia akan menjadi lawan yang tangguh untuk dihadapi.

"It’s not a case of us going into this game and thinking we’re going to roll them over and we’ll get into the next round; we’re just focusing on the task in hand and we know they’re going to be a tough team to play against." ujar Patrick McClean.

Persiapan mandiri serta analisis video juga dilakukan oleh sang bek demi meredam agresivitas lini serang klub asal Bulgaria tersebut.

"But that’s going to be the case for them playing against us, and then it’s all about who does it over the two legs. We’ve watched them and I’ve been watching some of my own stuff and I’ll obviously be doing my own homework on them as well… they’ve got some good players and some internationals." kata Patrick McClean.

Bagi Patrick, atmosfer sengit dan persaingan ketat di kompetisi antarklub Eropa merupakan alasan utama di balik keputusannya untuk kembali membela panji Derry City.

"Playing in Europe in these types of games is why I came back to Derry." tutur Patrick McClean.

Evaluasi menyeluruh tetap dilakukan pasca-kekalahan telak dari Waterford di kompetisi lokal akhir pekan sebelumnya agar fokus tim tidak terganggu oleh masa lalu.

"We can’t be looking too far ahead and at the same time we can’t be looking at the past and what has happened, because it means nothing and it isn’t going to help us," kata Patrick McClean.

Skuad Derry City menegaskan kesiapan mereka untuk bangkit bersama di lapangan guna meraih kemenangan bagi para pendukung setia mereka.

"We know things haven’t been good enough this season, but we’ve got a chance here now to rally and give the fans something to shout about." ujar Patrick McClean.

Pertandingan leg kedua dijadwalkan berlangsung pada pukul 18.30 waktu setempat di Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, di mana pemenang dari babak ini akan menghadapi Qarabağ FK atau Vestri, sedangkan tim yang kalah bakal turun ke Kualifikasi Liga Konferensi Eropa untuk melawan HNK Rijeka.