Tickets for away fans are no longer on sale. The match will be televised on Premier Sports & TNT Sports, kickoff 5.45pm

Before the trip north, Stephen Bradley spoke to shamrockrovers.ie

Dylan Watts’ 30-yard thunderbolt (v Drogheda last Friday) was worthy to win any game of football. Was that probably our goal of the season and a brilliant way to get the three points?

“It’s a great strike from Dylan, but I think it’s nothing less than we deserved. Our performance on the night was very good and we created several chances. We hit the post as well, but that goal probably sums up Dylan at the moment, in terms of his performance level. I’m delighted for him and the group as a whole.”

We had to remain patient for that winner five minutes from time. You made subs with 20 minutes to go, with possibly one eye on Thursday but there was an urgency to go and score. How did you feel we played, particularly in the latter stages?

“I think we played well throughout. The subs had nothing to do with Thursday, they had to do with trying to win the game in front of us and I thought the players that came on made a real impact, which is important. The performance was good. Other than one chance in the first half, Drogheda didn’t threaten us. We always know when we go to Drogheda, we must be patient and that it might not happen early on. We have to keep believing in what we’re doing, and I thought the players did that really well.”

There is no room for error with three league games to go so the team had to deal with the threats by Drogheda, who did miss an open goal but keeping the clean sheet and the momentum going into Thursday and Sunday must have felt hugely important?

“We know Drogheda are dangerous in transition and you’ve got to respect them. In the main, I thought we did that well. Other than the Pat’s game, we’ve been playing well and winning games, so it was important to keep the momentum going into another tough game on Thursday.”

Scottish striker Andy Ryan will be a Larne player to be weary of, as his hat-trick helped them to qualify for the League Phase. Having watched Larne in action yourself recently, what do you think of their set up and style as a team under Tiernan Lynch?

“I think they’re a very good team. They’ve obviously been setting the standards in the Irish League for the last couple of seasons. They have a very clear identity in how they play. You mention Ryan up top but there’s other players around the team that can win games for them and cause problems. We’re well aware of Larne’s quality and what they do, but like every game, we’ll try and impose ourselves on the game as quickly as possible and try and win the game.”

You’ve spoken before about enjoying the challenge of playing teams with different styles and technical abilities from other European countries. But Rovers have not faced an Irish Premiership side in a long time. Will our preparation and approach be somewhat similar to a league game this time?

“I think how we prepare for games doesn’t change. Obviously when you play different styles and teams from different countries, their style dictates a little bit what you do and how you prepare, but it’s nice to be going up to Windsor to play a good team on a good pitch in European competition. That’s why we love European football, it throws up these types of challenges and it’s one we’re really looking forward to.”

Is it about building on our opening draw with APOEL and getting more points on the board, and is there a real desire in the squad to make history and become the first ever Rovers team to win a European group stage game?

“It’s just about if we can perform to our level. We know if we do that, it gives us a chance in games to go and win them. That’ll be the aim on Thursday, to perform to our level and see where it takes us. We know we’re against a good team, but we’ll do what we do, and the result will look after itself.”

You’ve played at Windsor Park before as a player (winning the Setanta Sports Cup final with Drogheda) but it’ll be a new experience for this Rovers squad. With 1,550 tickets sold so far and a big travelling support – and the fact that it’s not actually Larne’s home ground – do you think our players will like the pitch and atmosphere up there?

“Windsor is a nice stadium with a big pitch and this group likes playing on big pitches. It suits us, it suits our style and I’m sure the players will enjoy playing in Windsor. All the experience that we’ve picked up over the years, we’ll need on Thursday night to go and get the result.”

Will Sean Hoare, Aaron Greene and Trevor Clarke be involved in the match day squad in Belfast?

“Aaron and Trevor are back but it’ll be next week for Sean.”

Neil Farrugia is suspended for this game.