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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Andy McGilvray

Motherwell star hopes to make a Euro debut to remember

Motherwell star Joe Efford hopes he will make a memorable European debut on Thursday night when Sligo Rovers come calling in the Europa Conference League, and wants home fans to roar them on.

The 25-year-old winger scored as the Premiership side beat Partick Thistle 1-0 in a friendly at Firhill in preparation of the second qualifying round first leg tie, having come through a bout of Covid.

Having come through a bout with Covid, for Efford it was just good being out there on the pitch and getting minutes into his legs.

But he admits excitement is building ahead of the clash with the League of Ireland Premier Division side.

Efford said: "Having the first game at home will be a great benefit, in front of the fans.

"This is my first European game, I'm excited, and we hope to win.

"We've watched them a lot, and they're a good team.

Efford scored the only goal in a 1-0 friendly win over Partick Thistle at Firhill (SNS Group)

"We're excited to play against them, and we don't want to under-estimate or over-estimate anyone - we just want to go do our best.

"We want to go as far as we can, show up to every game and do our best to take points."

Efford, who signed from Belgian side SK Beveren in January, was part of a three-pronged attack, with new signing Joe Morris and Connor Shields, with Blair Spittal playing his first Motherwell game on Scottish soil.

He feels the players are working well together and enjoyed the game in Maryhill.

Efford said: "I felt good. I've come back from Covid and personally I felt well, the team did well also, and we're happy with the win.

The American star hopes to keep getting chances to score (SNS Group)

"I had a few chances in the first half, hit the post with a header and could have scored a couple of goals.

"It felt good to score and I hope to keep getting these opportunities to finish more.

"It was a good test. For myself, personally, I'm happy to get some minutes into my legs, and to come back after this.

"The chemistry is going well. For me, personally, this is my first time playing with the new players but I think we have good chemistry up in attack, and I'm happy about it."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

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