Dundalk manager Vinny Perth says "our players believe" in themselves, ahead of the Champions League second qualifying round second-leg away to Azerbaijani champions Qarabag.
The Lillywhites grabbed a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg with Patrick Hoban getting the equaliser in the 78th minute after Qarabag opened the scoring with Mahir Madatov finding the back of the net inside five minutes.
Speaking ahead of the game on Wednesday, Perth said, “I think Qarabag have obviously got a positive result away from home, which puts them in a strong position, but our players believe in ourselves.
“We have to dream. We have to go up another level to compete with Qarabag but, ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re not here for a moral victory. We’re here to reach the next round of the Champions League and we’ll do everything to achieve that goal.
“I think, from our point of view, the game will be very similar to the last game. We expect Qarabag to have more of the ball than we do. But we believe we can attack better than we did in the first game and that is the challenge for us – to attack with a bit more quality in the final third.
“Well luckily enough, in the last round we had a penalty shootout, so that gives us some experience at this level.
We have practiced and we have done our homework, so it’s part of preparing properly for a game of this magnitude, so yes it’s in our mind, but I’m sure that both teams would rather it was settled within 90 minutes.”
Dundalk would take on APOEL Nicosia in the third-qualifying round if they get through this evening's tie, after the Cypriot side based Montenegrian champions Sutjeska 3-0 on aggregate. However, if they lose they will enter the Europa League qualification rounds.
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