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Away In Athens


vespa
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As I said in the other thread, we should be planning for this game with the intention of getting back into the tie.

 

It might be a hugely difficult task and to now qualify is admittedly extremely unlikely, but an early goal for Motherwell and anything could happen.

 

I remember the chat amongst Motherwell fans before "Skippy Sunday" was all about what would happen after the game when Celtic went to parade their trophy because no one even considered us winning. When I went to leave Fir Park after Hibs scored to make it 6-2 and only stayed because Giles Coke made it 6-3 while I was in the bog, I never for a moment thought we'd draw 6-6. When I was marching to the Parc des Princes with about 25,000 Scotland fans in Paris, I never for a second believed we'd get even a draw against the French, never mind a victory. These things happen in football, it's why we love the game.

 

I'm an optimist but I recognise the tie is almost completely out of reach - but come Wednesday (after a few too many pints in Athens) I'll be going to the stadium in the hope that an early Motherwell goal can pave the way for us to at least have a slight chance of forcing extra time.

 

Even if that's out of the question, a draw or even a one goal win is still something we should be aiming for. I couldn't care less what the score is, if we nick a goal in a Champions League match I'll be going fucking tonto.

 

After paying hundreds of pounds to be there, I'd be furious if we decided just to play damage limitation or use it as a "pre-Europa League" preparation friendly.

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I'm an optimist but I recognise the tie is almost completely out of reach - but come Wednesday (after a few too many pints in Athens) I'll be going to the stadium in the hope that an early Motherwell goal can pave the way for us to at least have a slight chance of forcing extra time.

I'd say I'm a realist, and being honest I think we've got a right decent chance of going through. Yes we're away, 2-0 down etc but at times the other night we passed them off the park. The move in the first half that put Lasley in was awesome and on another night we could've got two or three.

 

If we go to Athens and play the way we did at Fir Park I reckon with a bit of luck and a first half goal we can actually do this!

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As has been mentioned, we get the first goal then we have it all to play for and they might bottle it. Long odds on us going through but nevertheless not over by any means yet. Considering the fair number of people going to Athens I think McCall owes it to the fans to try and stil win this tie. if we are considering damage limitation at this point then we are doing ourselves a huge injustice. Fair enough if they score another 2 then maybe go into damage limitation mode but until then

 

Let's git intae them

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A goal isn't by any means a stretch of the imagination. Score first and it's on....

 

Absolutely. And we proved last season that our team sets up well away from home. Even if we keep it scoreless until half time and then grab a goal, it could make for an interesting game.

 

While being 2 - 0 up is obviously a big advantage, it can be a tricky score to defend and teams often get caught up between sitting in and looking for a 3rd.

 

Or maybe I'm just being overoptimistic.

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I'm all for giving it a go to try and get the first goal. But if we lose the first goal ourselves, continuing to go gung-ho and losing 8-0 wouldn't do anybody any good, not least the players' confidence. Just trying to keep the score respectable if we went a goal or two down on the night might not be particularly entertaining, but the players would probably benefit more from it.

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This may be my one and only chance of seeing Motherwell playing away in the Champions League. I would be distraught and very angry if we didnt at least try and win the game and see what happens in the tie.

 

It would be a total slap in the face to all the fans travelling if any other attitude was adopted.

 

However, I think Stuart McCall is a winner. Cant believe he will have given up on this tie yet.

 

Cmon the Steelmen. Remember the spirit of Wembley '99!

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