Kenny calls for self-belief ahead of Riga challenge | Airtricity League

Kenny calls for self-belief ahead of Riga challenge

Derry City will be hoping to put recent League of Ireland disappointment behind them when they take on FK Skonto in the Europa League.

The Candystripes will begin their 2009 European campaign on Thursday evening when they take on Skonto in Riga. Despite having lost to Drogheda United at the weekend, manager Stephen Kenny will be hoping his team can put domestic matters to one side and focus on securing a good result in Riga to take home to Derry.

"We're travelling to Riga who have won their last five games and are one point off the top of their league," said Kenny. "They've had the experience of playing big games in Europe in the past having played against Chelsea and Barcelona - maybe not this group of players - but the club has a young panel with a number of Latvian internationals who are experienced at European level.

"They have sold one of their strikers to Maccabi Haifa in recent weeks for E300,000 which is also significant. But I don't think we can be fearful. We will not be set-up just to contain and defend on Thursday night, I don't think you can do that. Life is too short, you can't sit and wait and hope that something will happen. We need to get a stranglehold on the game and try to score an away goal."

Barry Molloy and Steven Gray have been passed fit for the match, although Kevin Deery (calf), Liam Kearney (fractured leg) and Mark McChrystal (cheek bone) will all be absent.

With the return leg scheduled for July 23rd, Derry's main objective will be to ensure that they are taking a positive result home. Kenny says that his team must believe in their ability to get that result.

"We must strive to get through the round because so much depends on it," he said. "But, as I've said, we must not be fearful and believe in ourselves. Skonto will feel confident, but we must believe in our own ability and do all in our power to secure a favourable result in Lativa."

Sitemap•FAI Privacy Statement•Website Design by Firefly Web, Ireland•Sportsfile

Website Disclaimer

The information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. The Football Association of Ireland endeavours to keep the information up to date and correct. Fixtures data may change and whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information displayed on this website is correct and up to date, we are not liable for any errors. The Football Association of Ireland takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.