Thursday 10 July
UEFA Conference League - First Round Qualifying second legs
St Joseph's (Gibraltar) v Shelbourne - Europa Sports Park, 5pm - Shelbourne lead 2-1
Derry City v FCB Magpies (Gibraltar), Tolka Park, 7.45pm - FCB Magpies lead 2-0
Weather
Derry: There is a chance of rain with a light breeze in the north, with evening highs of 13 degrees.
Gibraltar: Like Derry last week, Shelbourne must cope with high temperatures. However while it was 30 degrees at kick-off time for City, it will a few degrees cooler on this occasion for the Irish side, around 25 but with significant humidity.
State of play from the first leg
Shelbourne bring a one-goal lead to Gibraltar against St Joseph's thanks to a 2-1 victory last week.
That advantage was needed as they deal with the tricky Europa Point Stadium pitch and the heat.
Shels will be confident they can see it out especially if they can score.
For Derry City they need to produce a near flawless display tonight.
The concession of two goals from set-piece deliveries means puts them up against it massively.
This will be Magpies' third European campaign and they have yet to progress in a tie. History awaits them if they can pull off the shock.
There is no doubt Derry have the goalscoring talents. Their current form is a major concern.
As well as losing in Europe, they have slipped three points off the top after going down to a 2-1 defeat in Sligo.
Derry left the Rock in a hard place
No Irish side has come back from a two-goal deficit in Europe, so that is the size of the task for Derry.
Manager Ruaidhri Higgins sees more desire within his players this week.
"If training this week is anything to go by, the hunger in people's eyes, seeing people wanting to put things right makes me think we'll be okay.
"I don’t see it as a chance to break a record or anything, it’s not one to really be proud of, seeing as we lost 2-0. We have a job to do. We know where we went wrong last week.
"We’ll use the fuel to energise us and go out and put in an unbelievably courageous and committed performance because we all know we let people down, we let ourselves down and we now have a real opportunity to put that right.
"We now have an opportunity to put it right. I don't think we were good enough, I don’t think we’ve done anything to underestimate anybody, that wasn’t the case. But we underperformed and we have to take that on the chin and fight back."
This will be Magpies' third European campaign, with them coincidentally having only played clubs from the island of Ireland previously.
Two seasons ago they beat Crusaders in the first leg on the Rock, only to lose 3-1 in Belfast. They held Dundalk at home last season, before also losing 3-1 at Oriel Park.
Be cautious, warns Higgins
While they need goals, and have a history of memorable occasions in the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, Higgins has cautioned Derry on not going for the jugular from the opening seconds.
"We've seen how special European nights can be in the Brandywell, and we need them to get right behind us from minute one.
"There is no doubt that we can score goals but we also have to be very mindful that we’re set up right behind the ball when we’re attacking, because they’ve got threats as well.
"We can’t just go gung-ho, we have to attack but with a certain amount of discipline as well, commit bodies forward but be mindful that they have one or two threats on the counter attack."
Shelbourne must manage conditions
It was a night of celebration in Tolka Park last Thursday, beginning in the first minute when Mark Coyle scored.
That night didn't exactly go to plan as Javi Paul scored before half-time and it needed a Will Jarvis penalty in the second period for Shels to lead.
Joseph's were finished second in their domestic league last year, one spot ahead of FC Bruno's Magpies, so they are a similar level to Derry's opponent.
Duff will be pleased to know more about Joseph's after admitting he struggled to find enough footage before the game.
The fear now will be utilising their gameplan in Gibraltar. Known for their workrate and application, it will not be simple away from home tonight.
O'Brien calls for Shels to seize the day
Assistant manager Joey O'Brien has called on Shelbourne to take the opportunity in front of them.
The Dubliners arrived in Gibraltar on Tuesday afternoon to acclimatise for kick-off on Thursday.
With the task of knowing avoid defeating will take them through, he is pleased the message is a simple one.
O'Brien explained: "It's very warm but we went down yesterday to watch the match and it's very windy and probably doesn't play like the exact heat. Where the stadium is located, it's right next to the sea and the breeze is coming in. It keeps it quite cool.
"It's a huge opportunity for the club and the players. I think back to them myself as a player and you don't want any regrets, looking back in a few years thinking you let one go by. I'm sure they are highly motivated for it.
"The manager touched on it before we went away, we're going over here to take care of business. The boys are paid, they are professional footballers. You're coming here to do a job and that's what they have all dreamt about.
"For League of Ireland players to get an opportunity, it's a massive carrot I suppose and you chased it all last year to be here, so you have to take advantage of it and seize the day. Today is that moment."
The winner plays....
The winner of the Shelbourne tie will meet FC Zurich of Switzerland in the second qualifying round.
It's an even tougher task for the side progressing in Derry's tie, with FC Copenhagen awaiting.
Progress to the second round would be worth an additional €300,000 to the Premier Division clubs.
