Staring at an early elimination from the Europa League qualifying phase, The New Saints welcome Petrocub Hincesti to Park Hall for the second leg of their third-round affair on Tuesday evening.
The Welsh outfit fell to a 1-0 defeat in Chisinau last week, although a one-goal deficit is far from insurmountable for Craig Harrison's troops.
Match preview
© Imago
While New Saints defender Danny Davies was on target in the 20th minute of last Tuesday's third-round first leg, the 29-year-old's contribution came at the wrong end of the pitch, as his own goal handed Petrocub a slender but precious advantage on familiar soil.
Despite putting five past Flint Town United in a Welsh League Cup thrashing a few days beforehand, Craig Harrison's men had no response in the short time that remained and will drop down another tier to the Europa Conference League should their attacking boots fail them here too.
Only a couple of weeks ago, Harrison's men were bidding for a historic appearance in the Champions League league stage, commencing their journey with a 4-1 aggregate win over Dedic before being demolished 7-1 by Hungarian giants Ferencvaros over two legs, thereby suffering relegation to the Europa League preliminary stage.
However, the New Saints will write a chapter of club history regardless of whether they can reach the final stage of Europa League qualifying for just the second time ever; defeat will see them compete in the Conference League playoff round for the first time.
Still waiting for their first appearance in a group/league phase of a major continental competition, the 16-time Welsh Premier League champions were due to take on Caernarfon Town in their top-flight opener this weekend, but the contest was postponed to aid their quest for Europa League progression.
Similarly, upcoming visitors Petrocub are also yet to contest their first domestic match of 2024-25 as they channel all of their energy into Europa League matters, having also tried but failed to reach the latter stages of Champions League qualifying.
First-time Moldovan champions in the 2023-24 season - in addition to completing a league and cup double - Andrei Martin's men edged out Ordabasy 1-0 over two legs in their opening UCL preliminary tie before succumbing to a 2-1 aggregate loss to APOEL in round two.
Also pining for their first appearance in the UEL or UECL proper, Petrocub had never advanced to the third round of Europa League qualifying before, and the White-Blacks have only ever got as far as that phase in the Europa Conference League, so a new continental best will be achieved whether they can cling onto their advantage or not.
Should Martin's men add to or maintain their advantage at Park Hall, the reigning Moldovan champions will take on the losers of Ludogorets Razgrad and Qarabag's third-round Champions League qualifying battle for the right to reach the Europa League proper.
In the meantime, the losers will have 180 minutes to save their continental bacon in the Europa Conference League playoff round, where either Panevezys or Maccabi Tel Aviv will await.
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Team News
None of Harrison's New Saints players succumbed to injury or picked up suspension-inducing cards in the first-leg defeat, although 30-year-old defender Ryan Astles is in the infirmary with an unspecified injury.
On the back of a tepid attacking performance in Moldova, Harrison may consider tinkering with his attacking setup; Jordan Williams for Ryan Brobbel was a swap that was made just after the hour mark in the first leg.
Williams can therefore feel optimistic of coming in on the left of the hosts' attacking trident, while former Scotland youth international Declan McManus is an alternative option to Brad Young, who scored three goals in UCL qualifying.
In contrast, Petrocub boss Martin was forced to bring left wing-back Dumitru Demian off in the 33rd minute of last Tuesday's first leg, and while the severity of his affliction is not known, an appearance on Tuesday is unlikely either way.
Moldova international Corneliu Cotogoi was given the nod to replace Demian for the remainder of the contest, but Constantin Sandu and Nicky Clescenco are more natural options on the left-hand side.
The New Saints possible starting lineup:
Roberts; Daniels, Davies, Bodenham, Marshall; D. Williams, Redmond, Smith; Holden, Young, Williams
Petrocub Hincesti possible starting lineup:
Smalenea; Bors, Mudrac, Platica; Jardan, Douanla, Lungu, Sandu; Ambros, Caruntu, Puscas
We say: The New Saints 1-1 Petrocub Hincesti (Petrocub win 2-1 on aggregate)
Sparks have not flown in matches involving Petrocub so far this season, as the White-Blacks have scored just three goals while conceding two in their five matches in 2024-25, suggesting that another low-key affair is on the cards in Wales.
Harrison's men should at least breach their visitors' backline with the home crowd behind them, but we expect the Moldovan champions to strike back and move 180 minutes away from the Europa League league stage.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
