A fortnight after shocking Qatar in a pre-season friendly in Spain, David Healy’s Linfield are bracing themselves for a testing night against The New Saints in Oswestry.
The Blues’ recent 1-0 win over this year’s World Cup hosts in a bounce game at the Marbella Football Centre went viral and sparked headlines across the globe.
But two weeks later the Big Two giants are fully focused on their first competitive fixture of the season in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. “It was a friendly game against Qatar and you’re not going to come away screaming, kicking or moaning either way if you win or lose,” said Healy. “But it was a really good game for us in a testing heat in Spain and it was a great pre-season workout which has helped us prepare for Europe. “We did a lot of double sessions and a lot of hard work in Spain and credit to the players, they bought into it.
It was a great trip and a really worthwhile exercise.” While Healy views Linfield’s two-legged showdown with TNS as winnable, recent history tells him the Welsh champions will be a tough nut to crack.