Conan Byrne hoping for early birthday present

St Patrick’s Athletic winger Conan Byrne is hoping for an early 30th birthday present with a start and victory against Skonto Riga in tonight’s Europa League second-leg clash (7.45pm kick-off).

Byrne was a spectator in Riga last week when the Saints let an early lead slip and they need to score at least once at Richmond Park to overturn a 2-1 deficit.

Having missed the last five weeks with a hamstring strain, the free-scoring flanker is back available as the Saints chase goals.

“I felt fine for the first leg but our manager Liam Buckley wanted to give me an extra week just to be sure,” explained Byrne yesterday.

“I’m raring to go now. I turn 30 on Friday, so a nice way to start the celebrations would be progressing in the second round.

“Hopefully, I can break my duck and get a first victory in European competition. We lost both legs against Maritimo in 2010 when I was at Sporting Fingal. After joining St Pat’s, we played Zalgiris twice, getting a draw before losing the second leg at home. And, in last year’s Champions League, we drew away to Legia Warsaw only to lose in Dublin. It’s time for a change.”

Byrne reckons a second round meeting against Debrecen from Hungary next week is well within the squad’s capabilities tonight.

“I think if we take the type of good opportunities we missed last week, we’ll have a great chance,” he reasoned.

“From our perspective, the two goals conceded last week were sloppy but we got an away goal. With the formation Skonto operate, playing three at the back, we need to utilise the space in behind them and be more ruthless in front of goal.”

Meanwhile, Liam Buckley admits his scope to strengthen the squad will hinge on advancing to the next round, given the guaranteed €410,000 it generates. One of his targets remains Damien Duff, despite Shamrock Rovers being the likely club of choice for the Ireland legend.

He said: “We progressed through three rounds of the Europa League a few years ago when the money was half what it is now. Earning half a million would seriously improve our budget.

“I had a good chat with Damien last week about a lot of different bits and pieces. He would be a great addition for us but we’ll have to see where he decides to go over the next few weeks when he gets himself fully fit.”