Kenny keeps faith, despite scale of task

Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny is refusing to throw in the towel on his side’s Europa League challenge ahead of tonight’s second qualifying round second leg clash with Hajduk Split in Croatia.

The Louth men travel to the Stadion Poljud needing to produce one of the finest performances from by an Irish side in Europe in order to turn around a 2-0 first leg deficit from last Thursday.

Goals in either half from Mijo Caktas and Nikola Vlasic have left Igor Tudor’s side in a commanding position ahead of tonight’s game in Split.

Yet while the Croatians are strong favourites to advance to the next stage, no one at the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division leaders believes the tie is dead.

“The odds are against us in a major way,” admitted Kenny.

“You have to call it as you see it but at the same time we have shown the capacity to come back before.

“The tie is not dead and if it’s still 2-0 with 15 minutes to go we have a chance.

“We’ve got to stay in the game and give ourselves every chance. We’ve got to think about things tactically as well on that big pitch out there and think about what way we’re going to play.

“Although we’ve given ourselves a mountain to climb, it still is only half-time and we have to go over and give it a go. We’re not giving up.”

Former Cork City winger Daryl Horgan is Dundalk’s only slight doubt with a tight hamstring but is expected to feature.