Thun seek Prague springboard

FC Thun relinquished their chance of reaching the knockout stages with defeat on Matchday 5, but they are determined to battle for a UEFA Cup place in Prague.

Rank outsiders
Rank outsiders at the start of the Group B campaign, a Matchday 2 win at home against AC Sparta Praha has propelled the tiny Swiss club up to third in the table, and should they avoid defeat in Prague, they will earn the right to play UEFA Cup football at the start of 2006.

Complacency costs
Defender Ljubo Milicevic believes Thun's 1-0 victory when the two sides last met will give them a slight advantage but he warned against the type of complacency that saw the Swiss side go on a five-match losing run in all competitions up until 27 November.

Last-minute losses
"We know that we can beat Sparta and we will fly out to Prague with a lot of confidence," he told uefa.com. "We have to go with the belief that we can get a result there. We've been losing a lot of games in the last few minutes and we've had some hard lessons in Europe but it's been good experience for the boys.

Experience gained
"Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes in the future," added the Australian, whose contract at the club expires at the end of the season. "With a little bit of luck maybe we could have done better. Our aim is still to get through to the UEFA Cup and hopefully we can still do that."

Priorities change
Coach Urs Schönenberger stated at the start of Thun's European campaign that securing third spot in the group was their priority. The victory against Sparta at the Stade de Suisse in September briefly raised expectations as they climbed to second, but subsequent home and away defeats against AFC Ajax, followed by a loss at the hands of Arsenal FC swiftly dampened the early euphoria.

Fans reward
Striker Mauro Lustrinelli, who had a second-half strike against Arsenal ruled out for offside on Matchday 5, said the players were desperate to reward the fans, who have filled Thun's adopted home stadium at every match, with more European football.

Fantastic atmosphere
"We played three times at home and each time there has been a fantastic atmosphere," said Lustrinelli. "The supporters helped us to lift our performance and it would be very special to play at the Stade de Suisse again in a European competition.

Heads held high
"We hope the cards will turn for us in Prague after all the bad luck we have endured," he added. "The disappointment of being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League is huge, but we played well in every game and we could hold our heads up high despite losing. That speaks a lot for Thun and the players and I think our fans. Switzerland can be very proud."