It’s only half-time in the tie says Crusaders boss Baxter

The Crues find themselves 2-1 down following the first-leg in the sweltering conditions in Gibraltar on Thursday evening.

Goals from Daniel Bent and Pibe either side of half-time put the hosts in control before the Shore Road men fought back thanks to Jordan Forsythe’s header to set up a tense finish.

The visitors could not find an equaliser, but Baxter says it’s still all to play for.

“It’s 2-1 but it’s only half-time,” he told the club’s Facebook page.

“They have to come to Seaview and it will be a different proposition on our home turf and playing in front of our crowd.

“We’ll get out of the heat, get them home and freshen them up again and look forward to a big challenge next Thursday night.

“Ben Kennedy and Chris Hegarty will come back in so we’ll have a few fit and fresh boys available again.

“We’ll let the boys recharge the batteries again after five days away, and we’ll get them back in again on Monday.

“We’ll watch the game back again and prepare our tactics accordingly.”

Temperatures hit 35 degrees before kick-off with Baxter comparing the conditions at Victoria Stadium to a furnace!

“People won’t be aware of the temperatures here,” he said.

“We had to cut the warm-up short by about 15 minutes because it was like a furnace.

“The boys were exhausted because of the heat. We knew the 6pm kick-off time was always going to be tricky for us. The pitch was very sticky and didn’t lend itself to good football.

“I was disappointed with the first goal and the second looked a mile offside from where I was standing.

“But the team showed a lot of character and got right back into it with a good goal from Jordan.

“It was total domination from us after that, we were passing it better and getting into good areas.

“The second half performance was excellent, especially given the conditions.”