Sonni Nattestad is expecting another tiring evening living close to the edge as Dundalk look to finish the job against Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem.
The Lilywhites secured a dramatic 2-2 draw in Holland last week against a young and attack minded opponent with a brilliant Patrick McEleney brace leaving Vinny Perth's side minutes from victory in a game where they were under the cosh for long spells.
Dundalk conceded at the death, however, to leave the tie level going into the decider in Tallaght tomorrow. Faroese international Nattestad is anticipating another challenging evening and hopes that fatigue on the opposite side can work to their advantage.
"They were difficult to face in the first half, I was never so tired after a game," admits the 27-year-old.
"They ran us hard in the first half but in the second half we played better. We kept the ball well and scored two great goals. You could see that they are still in pre-season, especially in the second half.
"You could see that they are the best quality side that we have met, especially when we were under pressure in the first half. That's why I say that we defended pretty well. Alessio (Abibi) saved us a couple of times as well. We are going to need him again tomorrow, we will need big saves, blocks on the line if we are to get through. This is what we hope for."
Nattestad feels that Dundalk could make life easier themselves by being sharper in possession when placed under pressure. But he also thinks that Vitesse's all out attack approach can be exploited on the counter, as evidenced by the break that led to McEleney's superb dink in the initial clash.
After a stint in Ireland that has largely been spent playing closed doors fixtures in empty stadiums, the imposing centre half is enjoying the big match feel of playing in front of spectators again with 1,500 fans set to cheer on Dundalk at their temporary base.
"That is why you play football - it's the big stage and against the biggest teams. It's just good and you are excited when a game Iike this comes around," he says.
"It increases everybody's performances when you play on a good pitch. At club level, Vitesse last week was probably the biggest (game) so far for me because of the fans and the atmosphere in the stadium.
"It (Vitesse approach) suits us a bit more because if they do attack then there will be plenty of space to run in behind them. That would be a plan.
"In the first half last week, their quickness and the runs they made challenged us but we didn't keep the ball well enough. That was probably our own fault as well. We just kicked the ball away which is why we got tired , we were running after the ball.
"In the second half we kept the ball well so it was easier to play. Everybody was motivated before the game and we went into it with a really good spirit and believed that we could create a result there. We did, so hopefully we can do it again."