LoI in Europe 2024

[pineapple stu]

Did I hear on a podcast the Lithuanian crowd are bottom or close to the bottom of the league .

Yep - second last. Weird that; the Baltic leagues don't tend to have much strength in depth, so they might have had financial issues?

[sbgawa]

Champions League:

Seeded:
HJK Helsinki (FIN)
FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
KÍ Klaksvík (FRO)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
FC RFS (LVA)

Unseeded:
NK Celje (SVN)
Larne FC (NIR)
FK Panevežys (LTU)
Vikingur Reykjavík (ISL)
FC Differdange 03 (LUX)

Wouldnt fancy us to beat any of the teams above, maybe the Lituanians.

[dundalkfc10]

Wouldnt fancy us to beat any of the teams above, maybe the Lituanians.

Surely you would be confident of beating Larne over 2 legs

[total hoofball]

Conference League:

Round 1:

Seeded:
Breidablik (ISL)
F91 Diddelang (LUX)
SP Tre Penne (SMR)
St Joseph's FC (GIB)
Crusaders FC (NIR)

Unseeded:
Floriana FC (MLT)
Shelbourne FC (IRL)
Atlétic Club Escalades (AND)
GFK Tikves (MKD)
Caernarfon Town FC (WAL)

Mixed bag those possible ties for Shels. Definitely want to avoid Breidablik and F91 as they beat both Rovers and Pats in Europe only last season

Crusaders would be popular for the cheap travel bills and being winnable, St. Joseph's popular for a summer holiday and being winnable but if we definitely want to progress surely that San Marino team have to be terrible

[2 Year Contract]

Dudelange in the away leg were possibly the best side Pats faced last season IMO. Even at that though Pats got the tie level in the second leg before gifting them a goal with about 25 minutes to go and imploding from there. A lot of the 5 goals conceded in the tie were preventable and I think this years shels team would be able to see off Dudelange because of their defensive solidity and the fact that they don’t tend to have too many brain farts resulting in goals. Breidablik would be tricky also but despite knocking rovers out they wouldn’t be an impossible task either. So taking those 2 as the best 2 sides in that seeded group, a 60% percent chance of a great draw for shels is fantastic odds considering they’re unseeded

[brendy_éire]

Seeded:
FK Zalgiris (LTU)
Linfield (NIR)
Paide Linnameeskond (EST)
FK Liepaja (LVA)
Derry City (IRL)

Unseeded:
Bala Town FC (WAL)
Vikingur (FRO)
Stjarnan (ISL)
VPS Vaasa (FIN)
FCB Magpies (GIB)

Unless we get Vaasa, I'd be fairly disappointed not to progress. We played KuPs last year, and there was nothing between the sides. Would expect the same from Vaasa.
Otherwise, we'd be favourites. I know Icelandic sides can be tricky, but Stjarnan are sitting 7th in the league at present.

Bala is obviously the favoured one. Couldn't be bothered going back to the Faroes again for Víkingur, but it's a winnable tie.

I think we've got the most difficult group of any of the LoI teams, however I still think all teams should proceed, maybe barring Rovers getting Celje.

[yurt]

Yeah I agree with all that Brendy. Derry bring seeded in the ECL doesn't really count for much because must the seeded teams are weaker than the unseeded

You'd hope that Derry would have less problems with Bala than Sligo did.

Rovers will be desperate to draw the Lithuanians. If they draw Larne and lose you'd have to think it'll cost Bradley his job.

Would love to see Shels play Tre Penne. They have to be one of the weakest sides in the competition so would be interested to see what the floor is like in terms of European quality.

There would be huge fallout if they managed to lose to them and I'd be here for all of it.

[joey B]

Vikingur Reykjavik for Shamrock Rovers,2nd leg at home…

[Knocklyonhoop]

They’re bang in form.

we’d need a full squad to navigate this one I fear

[Straightstory]

They went out so tamely to the Icelanders last year and didn't seem that interested. I fear the same this time around.

[sbgawa]

Zero faith tbh. Beaten easily last year by an Icelandic team.
We should be beating them with our budget if we handed signed so many players that rarely play.

[nigel-harps1954]

Disappointing draw for them.

[pateen]

Zero faith tbh. Beaten easily last year by an Icelandic team.
We should be beating them with our budget if we handed signed so many players that rarely play.

Agreed, really should be beating that lot.
Lets hope it happens this year.

[brendy_éire]

Zero faith tbh. Beaten easily last year by an Icelandic team.
We should be beating them with our budget if we handed signed so many players that rarely play.

Won't make the same mistake this year, I'd reckon. Home second is decent too.

[CSAD]

Won't make the same mistake this year, I'd reckon. Home second is decent too.

They make the same mistake every season...the only times they go through is when they play a team bad enough not to capitalise on these mistakes.

[pineapple stu]

Disappointing draw for them.
Gives a chance to show they've learnt something from last year I guess, or that last year was a one-off.

Wouldn't be a good look to lose to easily again, though I could well see it happening

[ger121]

In a weird way the focus is really on Europe now as the league is over. 50/50 tie for me.

[joey B]

Great draws for Shels and Derry against opponents from Gibraltar ….

[nigel-harps1954]

Derry and Shelbourne both get Gibraltar opposition.

Derry first leg away to Brunos Magpies
Shels home first to St Josephs

[2 Year Contract]

Derry and Shels both heading to Gibraltar. Brilliant draw for both

[yurt]

From a co-efficients perspective the draws with the Gibraltar teams are very promising.

Hopefully Shels and Derry are clinical and win home and away. If they do it'll be worth a full co-efficient point and we'll be right in the mix to have our cup winners go into the Europa League next season.

[sbgawa]

Im glad to see Shels and Derry will be playing for four weeks in Europe at least.
The title charge starts here ........;)

[ger121]

Im glad to see Shels and Derry will be playing for four weeks in Europe at least.
The title charge starts here ........;)

That may be tongue in cheek but Europe does take its toll when it comes to league form. We saw what it did to Derry when they went on a euro run last year. Be very interesting to see how Shels perform if they have 6 weeks of European games during July/August. Rovers are old hats at this sort of thing and stranger things have happened.

[oriel]

Shels and Derry fans, we had a great trip to Gibraltar last year, stayed in Spanish side, the much bigger town of La Linea. Flew Dub - Gat - Gib, then walked into Spain ! Taxi to Hotel and back out in town 20 mins later.

If staying in Spain you will need to have passport ready each time in and out of Gib, suggest to get passport card, costs around €35 real handy, credit card size, Gib is more affluent than La Linea, if doing it again I`d prob base myself in Gib, but good to see that large Spanish town all the same. Beers are 3.50 euro max in La Lina, main meal €10 or so, at least 1/3 more exp in Gib (use Sterling).

Pre match esp for the Magpies game, head to Brunos Bar on the marina, ask for Louie, real nice fella from UK, he's based over there good few years, he even came over to Dundalk for the return trip and we met up, really good atmosphere in his bar pre and post game.

A must trip is up the Rock, taxi buses take you, it was outstanding, view of Morocco on top, Monkeys (actually small apes) surround the cars on top, only thing is the heat, it was 33c and no shade at 5pm ko, and St Joes and Magpies use same ground, imagine you'll be in same spot we were, take a hat and a plenty of water !

[placid casual]

It could work for Rovers in terms of the title. They'll be out of Europe within 2 weeks.

[oriel]

From a co-efficients perspective the draws with the Gibraltar teams are very promising.

Hopefully Shels and Derry are clinical and win home and away. If they do it'll be worth a full co-efficient point and we'll be right in the mix to have our cup winners go into the Europa League next season.

Replied to on a separate post, but the heat over there will be intense, I was at Italia 90 and experienced nothing like this in Gib, 33c at 5pm !!! I'd be very surprised if both won away, both will go through but unless you been there it is hard to describe the heat.

[brendy_éire]

If staying in Spain you will need to have passport ready each time in and out of Gib, suggest to get passport card, costs around €35 real handy, credit card size, Gib is more affluent than La Linea, if doing it again I`d prob base myself in Gib, but good to see that large Spanish town all the same. Beers are 3.50 euro max in La Lina, main meal €10 or so, at least 1/3 more exp in Gib (use Sterling).

Thanks for the tips.
Was there a few years ago for the Ireland match, but stayed in Cádiz (some spot).
Staying in La Línea, most fans see to be. Far cheaper accommodation, and actually closer to the airport. Flying into Málaga, out of Gibraltar.
Loved the top of the rock, and would go up there again.
There's talk of the game being played at Europa Point, way at the southern end, not the one beside the airport.

Football-wise, would expect both us and Shels to win handy enough. The heat is the only thing that would make me wonder about performances over there.

[pineapple stu]

From a co-efficients perspective the draws with the Gibraltar teams are very promising.

Hopefully Shels and Derry are clinical and win home and away. If they do it'll be worth a full co-efficient point and we'll be right in the mix to have our cup winners go into the Europa League next season.
Is four wins, a draw and a loss ambitious from the six games?

It should be achievable, but after last season (which included Dundalk drawing in Gibraltar) we may have to temper expectations...

For the record, we ended last year 35th but with a weak year dropped off, we start this year 33rd.

But another season like last year and we'd be close to collapsing to 40th or so

[geysir]

It has to be 2 handy ties against the Gibraltar clubs, at worst 2 wins + 2 draws, over the 4 games?
I wouldn't write off Rovers just yet, whilst they wouldn't beat Breidablik in a month of Sundays, they've more of a chance against Vikingur who are a less technically talented team than Breidablik but more consistent.

[brendy_éire]

Is four wins, a draw and a loss ambitious from the six games?

It should be achievable, but after last season (which included Dundalk drawing in Gibraltar) we may have to temper expectations...

I don't think it is. I'd even go as far to say I don't see anyone in losing a match in the first round.

[total hoofball]

I'm happy with Shels' draw it could have been worse, could have been better if we got the San Marino team but it's probably the next best draw out of that pot Crusaders may have been like a derby and could have become a bit of a circus around July 12th period, you just want a draw that gives you a good chance even if it's 60/40

It won't be any given for Shels to go through, St. Joseph's won't be push overs with a number of Gibraltar Internationals and players with European experience including knocking out Larne last season and they have recruited this summer from their Gibraltar league rivals like Red Imps/Bruno's/Europa. As mentioned the heat and being away in the 2nd leg could be an obstacle for us if we don't get out of Tolka with a lead in the tie

[yurt]

I'm a little less bullish on the LOI in Europe after being brought back to earth a little last year.

This time last year I was convinced that we'd take a step and we're set to consolidate ourselves as the best of the small leagues but results and performances outside of Derry were poor.

The co-efficient is luck of the draw and we've definitely gotten that luck this year getting 2 Gibraltar clubs in the easiest round to make ground.

1.000 co-efficient point is the minimum expectation from the 6 games I'd say (W=0.250, D=0.125, L=0.000).

To have any hope of the cup winners getting to the Europa we need Rovers to play more than 4 games and pick up a few wins somewhere in the champions route.

[brendy_éire]

I say Shamrock Rovers are only getting 50 away tickets for the Víkingur match. Horrible allocation.

I see Bruno's Magpies fans aren't sure if their match will be at the bigger stadium, Victoria, or the smaller one, Europa Point. The latter has, I think, 1.8k seats, but matches don't seem to sell out anyway. It's a plastic pitch that's also used for rugby and cricket.
Presumably Shels would be playing there too.

[ger121]

In rather Roversesque fashion, Víkingur conceded a 94th minute goal, to draw 2-2 away to Valur.

[2 Year Contract]

Pats grouping is:

KAA Gent (BEL)
Stjarnan (ISL) OR Linfield FC (NIR)
FC UNA Strassen (LUX) OR KuPS Kuopio (FIN)
FC Vaduz (LIE)
Brøndby IF (DEN)

The better the trip, the less of a chance of qualifying there is

[CSAD]

Pats grouping is:

KAA Gent (BEL)
Stjarnan (ISL) OR Linfield FC (NIR)
FC UNA Strassen (LUX) OR KuPS Kuopio (FIN)
FC Vaduz (LIE)
Brøndby IF (DEN)

The better the trip, the less of a chance of qualifying there is

St Pats would actually have a decent shot of advancing if they got anyone other than Gent or Brondby.

[oriel]

I am still saying you guys are not taking into account the heat over there in early July. Plus I bet they will go for the late afternoon kick off time again for the advantage, they are under no obligation to play at 730 or 6.

It could be 33-35c at 5pm again if they could with that time, Shels and Derry will go through, I still say both will not win the away legs, we shall see.

[joey B]

Sparta Prague for Rovers in the next round of they win the first tie…

[D24Saint]

St Pats would actually have a decent shot of advancing if they got anyone other than Gent or Brondby.

Not sure what their current side is like but FC Vaduz got to the group stages in recent seasons. They must be a decent sort of club to achieve that.

[CSAD]

Sparta Prague for Rovers in the next round of they win the first tie…

Considering Shamrock Rovers get outplayed by part time players in Europe I struggle to imagine them being competitive against any professional side...never mind a professional side with International players. I don't envision Rovers getting past the Icelandic opposition they are facing for the reasons I just said but even if they did they wont be going any further than this round that's for sure.

[CSAD]

Not sure what their current side is like but FC Vaduz got to the group stages in recent seasons. They must be a decent sort of club to achieve that.

True but other than that their record is pretty spotty in Europe. They play in the 2nd division in Switzerland.

[joey B]

The losers of FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH) or KF Egnatia (ALB) in the next round of the Conference league if they lose in the Champions League first round

[joey B]

Copenhagen for Derry in the next round,the worst draw possible….

[ger121]

Pat’s got Vaduz. Winnable maybe. Shels got Zurich if they progress. Far less so.

[joey B]

FC Zurich for Shels …

[brendy_éire]

Copenhagen for Derry in the next round,the worst draw possible….

Horrendous.
They were in the CL last year. Drew away to Bayern and Galatasaray, beat Man United and Galatasaray at home, finished second the group, and went out to Man City 6-2.

If we keep the aggregate margin of victory to single figures, I'd take that now.

[CSAD]

Horrendous.
They were in the CL last year. Drew away to Bayern and Galatasaray, beat Man United and Galatasaray at home, finished second the group, and went out to Man City 6-2.

If we keep the aggregate margin of victory to single figures, I'd take that now.

Idk why you would take it, the results of a 1 digit loss and a 2 digit loss is the same.

[Buckett]

I don't envision Rovers getting past the Icelandic opposition they are facing for the reasons I just said but even if they did they wont be going any further than this round that's for sure.

I'm all for winding people up but this makes no sense, if they beat the Icelandic team, they will go further, into the next round. If they lose, they go into the Conference League

[CSAD]

The losers of FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH) or KF Egnatia (ALB) in the next round of the Conference league if they lose in the Champions League first round

Their gone so, they arent beating any side that could be considered "professional". Their only hope is to be up against part time players or get a bye.

[CSAD]

I'm all for winding people up but this makes no sense, if they beat the Icelandic team, they will go further, into the next round. If they lose, they go into the Conference League

They wont go further because to get to the CL 3rd round you need to get past the 2nd round stupid!