Larne’s European penalty shootout hero Rohan Ferguson has already done his homework on tomorrow night’s opponents Lincoln Red Imps should he be called into action again.
Larne face the team from Gibraltar in the European Conference League play-offs to decide who makes it through to the lucrative group stages.
The first leg will be played at the Estadio Algarvia near Faro tomorrow night (7pm) with the return leg at Inver Park the following week.
Should Larne win over the two legs, they will make history by becoming the first Irish League club to reach the group stages of European football.
The Invermen have already pocketed €1m from European prize money to date and can triple that with further progress in the Conference League.
26-year-old Ferguson more than played his part in getting Larne to this juncture as he saved Ballkani’s first two penalties in the shootout with the Kosovar side last Thursday night.
Joe Thomson, Andy Ryan, Mark Randall and Chris Gallagher all duly scored from the spot to leave Larne just one step away from the promised land.
He says he tried to block out thoughts of what the prize money would mean to his club and focused on the preparation he had done to thwart the opposition.
“You can’t think about what the win would mean for the club financially, you have to focus on your job”, said Ferguson.
“I remember playing against Qarabag for Linfield when I was on loan from Motherwell five years ago, and Linfield nearly qualified.
“There was an element of daring to dream about the group stages, which could have a life-changing effect for a footballer.
“I don’t think you can get caught up in that. Getting to this stage was hard enough so we are focusing only on tomorrow night’s game.
“The fans are entitled to dream but us players must maintain our focus on getting the job done.
“I don’t want to jinx myself in case it happens again but I was quietly confident going into the penalty shootout, I usually fancy myself.
“We beat Linfield on penalties in the Co Antrim Shield final last year and I saved one (against Andrew Clarke), then I saved another (against Max Haygarth) in the Irish Cup.
“All you can do is do your preparation work properly and trust your gut instinct. Happily it paid off against Ballkani.
“Our analyst Rory (Scott) did a lot of work on Ballkani and where their penalties were likely to go, I had my water bottle notes and I guessed correctly for two of their penalties.
“I have looked at Lincoln Red Imps and familiarised myself with their penalty takers as it’s part of my job.
“With all the analysis and data available in the modern game, I think it’s lazy for me not to know.
“If push comes to shove, you have to give yourself and your team every advantage possible by doing your preparation work properly.”
With the coffers boosted by the win over Ballkani and having watched star striker Lee Bonis leave for Holland, Tiernan Lynch moved quickly in the transfer market this week.
He signed midfielder Jordan McEneff and striker Benji Magee with a view to coping with both European football and a backlog of league games.
Both new signings were signed before the deadline to be available to play and will be eligible for a tie no-one is taking lightly at Inver Park.
The top dogs in Gibraltar left Brendan Rogers with a bloody nose eight years ago when they beat Celtic 1-0 eight years ago at the Victoria Stadium.
“They’ve played at the highest level, they are a good side with good players and we can’t be naive.
“It’s a massive game for us and one we are all really looking forward to.”
