Derry City Jamin Tampil Tanpa Takut Saat Jamu CSKA Sofia

Manajer Derry City, Tiernan Lynch, menegaskan bahwa skuad asuhannya tidak perlu merasa gentar saat bersiap menjamu klub Bulgaria, CSKA Sofia, pada pertandingan leg kedua babak kualifikasi pertama Liga Eropa UEFA di Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium pada Kamis malam, 16 Juli 2026.

Klub berjuluk The Candystripes tersebut saat ini tertinggal agregat 2-3 setelah mengalami kekalahan tipis pada pertemuan pertama di Sofia pekan lalu, namun Lynch percaya peluang lolos masih terbuka sangat lebar dan meminta anak-asuhnya bermain penuh keyakinan.

CSKA Sofia sendiri dilaporkan menghadapi masalah administrasi besar menjelang keberangkatan ke Irlandia Utara setelah dua pemain pilar tim nasional Belarus milik mereka, kiper Fyodor Lapoukhov dan gelandang Max Ebong, dipastikan absen akibat belum memperoleh visa masuk dari otoritas Inggris.

"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.

"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.

Lynch juga menganalisis taktik mengejutkan 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.

"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.

Kendati terdapat perbedaan anggaran yang sangat timpang, di mana rekrutan anyar CSKA Sofia yakni Stefano Sensi menerima gaji sebesar 60.000 euro per bulan, Lynch mengingatkan anak asuhnya bahwa nama besar dan aspek finansial akan langsung sirna saat peluit sepak mula dibunyikan.

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

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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 juga menyadari atmosfer luar biasa yang akan dihadirkan oleh para suporter Derry City di stadion, namun ia mewanti-wanti para pemain agar tetap tenang dan tidak terburu-buru bermain menyerang sejak menit-menit awal.

"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.

"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.

Pertandingan leg kedua ini dijadwalkan berlangsung lebih awal dari biasanya pada pukul 18.30 waktu setempat di Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.