League of Ireland week: Hoops scout Icelandic foes as Dundalk enter crucial run

Shamrock Rovers have lined up two scouting missions for their Champions League battle after the identity of their opponents was confirmed over the weekend.
But Icelandic side Breidablik, who will be in domestic action twice before they travel to face the Hoops in Dublin in the first leg of their first-round tie next week, have suffered a blow as their top striker Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson will not be involved against Rovers.

Breidablik earned a meeting with Rovers by winning their preliminary round ties, beating Montenegro side Buducnost 5-0 on Friday. Striker Sigurdarson scored twice in their two Champions League games and had also netted 10 times in 13 league games but he will not feature against Rovers as he moved to a Belgian second-tier side over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Stephen O’Donnell has demanded a strong mentality from his in-form Dundalk side as they enter what could be a defining spell in their season.

Dundalk fans were on a high after Friday’s 2-0 win at home to Shamrock Rovers, cutting the lead previously held by the table toppers, that win welcomed at Oriel Park as Dundalk had failed to take a point from, or even score against, Rovers in their two meetings earlier this season.

O’Donnell’s side are in action again on Friday, away to Bohemians, and then turn their focus on Europe for their UEFA Europa Conference League clashes with Gibraltar side St Joseph’s and then another meeting with Rovers – their third clash in seven weeks – in the FAI Cup. O’Donnell says they can’t drop their standards.

“We can’t have a small-minded or a minnow mentality where we say ‘we’ve had this now’ and we just sleepwalk into Bohs on Friday,” O’Donnell said.

“This has to be our identity, what we showed against Rovers on Friday, what we are capable of and when we have that, we have lots of talented players.

“That was the best we have played, in and out of possession, we were at it from the get-go. We got the crowd going, which is what we wanted and we dominated the game in terms of going forward. It has been building but I am glad the players got their rewards for putting in a performance like that. We have shown what we are capable of when we play at that tempo.”