Crusaders ready for dream encounter with Wolves says Stephen Baxter

The Danske Bank Premiership side are relishing their clash with the Premier League side at Molineux

Both legs have sold out which only adds to the buzz surrounding the tie.

“From our club’s perspective it’s an honour to come and play against a Premier League team,” said Baxter.

“When the draw came out it was like the golden ticket for us. Opportunities like this don’t come around a lot.

“The buzz around everything when we won the tie against Torshavn, then the hype around ticket sales for the home game, for a small club from a small league to be doing all this is the stuff of dreams.”

Not only is it a massive game for the Crues, but it’s also a huge tie for the English outfit, who are playing their first game in Europe for 39 years, a fact not lost on Baxter.

“We had Brian Jensen with us for a season and it was his burning ambition to play in Europe,” he said. “We got a win in Lithuania and got through to another qualifying round, and then got a win in Estonia and got into another qualifying round.

“It was special for Brian to be playing in Europe even though he had played at such a high level in England.

“And I’m sure it will be the same for the Wolves players, even though they are playing at an unbelievable level this will be a big thing for them and for the fans too. This is a big game of football and I can understand why the fans want to get a ticket for this game. They want to see their team play in Europe, it’s a wonderful experience.”

The Seaview side have played some big games in Europe in recent years and Baxter says they will relish this test.

“We played Fulham a few years ago and we’ve played some other decent teams over the years like Copenhagen and Ludogrets,” he said.

“It’s going to be an uphill task for us, but it’s something we’re relishing, it’s not something we’re frightened of.”