Sheridan Backs Motherwell to Progress in Conference League

Cillian Sheridan has no interest in sitting on the fence. The former Motherwell striker is adamant his old club are already halfway to the next round – and not about to throw it away.

A 2-0 first-leg win over HB Torshavn at Fir Park, in Alfred Johansson’s first competitive match in charge, has the Steelmen in control of their Conference League qualifier. Goals from Martin Moormann and Lukas Fadinger gave the new manager the ideal start and, in Sheridan’s eyes, a cushion that simply cannot be squandered.

HB sit fifth in the Faroese top flight after 16 games, a step back from last season’s second-place finish that earned them this European shot. They are no minnows, but they are not the champions either – a detail Sheridan seized on when assessing Motherwell’s position.

"I'm going to put my neck out and say I think they will go through," he told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, leaning fully into the expectation that Johansson’s side will see the tie out.

The message was blunt. You don’t build a two-goal lead at home, then let it slip on a trip to the Faroe Islands. Not if you are serious about Europe. Not when the opposition, as Sheridan pointedly noted, reached this stage by finishing in the Conference League spots, not by winning their domestic title.

He accepts the risk that comes with such certainty. "I'm willing to have egg on my face at the end of this," he said, before quickly shutting the door on any hint of doubt. For Sheridan, there is only one outcome on the table: Motherwell, through to the third qualifying round, with their new era under Johansson gathering momentum on foreign soil.