Cork City midfielder Colin O’Brien insists that the Leesiders will be treating FK Metalurgs Liepaja with the utmost respect in their Inter-Toto Cup meeting at Turner’s Cross on Saturday evening - even though they know next to nothing about their Latvian opponents.
City’s attempts to gain entry via the back door to the UEFA Cup will represent the first ball kicked in anger in the new Irish season, while the Latvians already have nine games under their belts in the Virsliga.
And compared to Cork’s European opponents in years gone by, including IFK Gothenburg and Lausanne of Switzerland, O’Brien admits that the Latvians are something of an unknown quantity.
“We don’t know all that much about Metalurgs to tell you the truth,” O’Brien told sports.com.
“What we do know is that they are top of their own division after playing nine games. They’re also a full-time outfit, so on the basis of that we will treat them with a great deal of respect.
“They’re well into their season now and I suppose they will have more of a competitive edge than us. Our preparations have gone well though and we’ll definitely be looking to get a result from the home game.”
O’Brien admits that Cork will probably play a defensive game.
“We know that we’re playing for the pride of the league and we won’t want to be giving anything away,” added the 26-year-old who finished top scorer for City in 1998 and is currently director of coaching in Cork.
“We could start with a 4-5-1 formation to keep things tight or maybe a 3-5-2. But I’m sure we can cause them problems whichever way we play. After the way we finished last season there is a real confidence at the club.
“I don’t think it is beyond us to get a goal or two in Turner’s Cross to take with us to the away leg in Latvia.”
