James
17/07/2001, 4:38 PM
from onefootball.comTuesday 17th July 2001
The war between Champions' League rivals Bohemians and Levadia Maardu was cranked up another notch when the Dubliners arrived in Estonia for their second leg tie and immediately complained about their weed-covered training pitch.
And Irish anger was not eased when they were asked to pay for the privilege of training on the ground, which all adds up to another tense evening of Champions' League football.
Bohs hold the advantage from the first leg thanks to their 3-0 win in Dublin, but the game was marked by controversy as the start of the match was almost delayed because of Estonian complaints about the size and structure of the goalposts in Bohs' Dalymount Park home. Levdaia then lodged an official complaint with Uefa, which was thrown out by European football's governing body.
Bohs arrived in Tallinn on Monday morning but were immediately outraged when they saw their training facilities at Kalev stadium, home of Estonian Premiership side TVMK, which they considered unfit to play on. Bohs opted instead for a game of Gaelic football to fool the Levadia spies.
"The pitch we were given to train on was an absolute disgrace and to add insult to injury, they charged us £35 for the pleasure of using it," manager Pete Mahon told the Irish Sun.
"It was dreadful. The surface was full of weeds. There wasn't blade of grass on it and I was a bit apprehensive to allow the lads to train there to begin with, but decided to make the best of what we had.
"It would have suited them [Levadia] for us to have gone off in a huff. They are doing everything they can to put us off our game but it won't work. We are here for a game of football and nothing will deflect from that.
"But we won't be using the same training facilities again. The pitch we were given is just around the corner from our hotel but we will be going elsewhere for the rest of our stay."
Mahon had good news over injury worries Shaun Maher and Paul Byrne, though star striker Trevor Molloy is of course still suspended, and the Bohs boss also used the training session to fool the Estonian spies.
"They hadn't a clue what we were doing when we played a game of Gaelic football. They looked totally bemused. We didn't get to do what we would normally do, but the lads got a work out all the same and it was worth it to see the look on their faces."
It should be a case of 'as you were' for Bohs as they seek the win in Estonia which would be their third successive away win in Europe, following last season's successes in Aberdeen and Kaiserslautern.
That means another start for teenage right back Brian Shelley in place of Euro veteran Tony O'Connor, though left back Simon Webb will know that he had a below-par display in Dublin and will want to improve.
Bohs proved in last season's Uefa Cup that they can win away from home, and although Levadia created some moments of danger in the closing minutes in Dublin, the Dubliners should not only advance to the next round but should also boost the Irish Euro rating with another win.
Captain Igor Prins and playmaker Dmitry Kirilov return for Levadia Maardu.
The war between Champions' League rivals Bohemians and Levadia Maardu was cranked up another notch when the Dubliners arrived in Estonia for their second leg tie and immediately complained about their weed-covered training pitch.
And Irish anger was not eased when they were asked to pay for the privilege of training on the ground, which all adds up to another tense evening of Champions' League football.
Bohs hold the advantage from the first leg thanks to their 3-0 win in Dublin, but the game was marked by controversy as the start of the match was almost delayed because of Estonian complaints about the size and structure of the goalposts in Bohs' Dalymount Park home. Levdaia then lodged an official complaint with Uefa, which was thrown out by European football's governing body.
Bohs arrived in Tallinn on Monday morning but were immediately outraged when they saw their training facilities at Kalev stadium, home of Estonian Premiership side TVMK, which they considered unfit to play on. Bohs opted instead for a game of Gaelic football to fool the Levadia spies.
"The pitch we were given to train on was an absolute disgrace and to add insult to injury, they charged us £35 for the pleasure of using it," manager Pete Mahon told the Irish Sun.
"It was dreadful. The surface was full of weeds. There wasn't blade of grass on it and I was a bit apprehensive to allow the lads to train there to begin with, but decided to make the best of what we had.
"It would have suited them [Levadia] for us to have gone off in a huff. They are doing everything they can to put us off our game but it won't work. We are here for a game of football and nothing will deflect from that.
"But we won't be using the same training facilities again. The pitch we were given is just around the corner from our hotel but we will be going elsewhere for the rest of our stay."
Mahon had good news over injury worries Shaun Maher and Paul Byrne, though star striker Trevor Molloy is of course still suspended, and the Bohs boss also used the training session to fool the Estonian spies.
"They hadn't a clue what we were doing when we played a game of Gaelic football. They looked totally bemused. We didn't get to do what we would normally do, but the lads got a work out all the same and it was worth it to see the look on their faces."
It should be a case of 'as you were' for Bohs as they seek the win in Estonia which would be their third successive away win in Europe, following last season's successes in Aberdeen and Kaiserslautern.
That means another start for teenage right back Brian Shelley in place of Euro veteran Tony O'Connor, though left back Simon Webb will know that he had a below-par display in Dublin and will want to improve.
Bohs proved in last season's Uefa Cup that they can win away from home, and although Levadia created some moments of danger in the closing minutes in Dublin, the Dubliners should not only advance to the next round but should also boost the Irish Euro rating with another win.
Captain Igor Prins and playmaker Dmitry Kirilov return for Levadia Maardu.