LOI In Europe 2025

[Acornvilla]

Plus Shels are a hell of a lot worse than Rovers of last year.

Shels only beat Linfield in the 1st round by one goal. And it;s common sense that Linfield will be much more match sharp now than they were then.
I reckon Shels are also a better team now than they were a few weeks ago tbh, they gave Linfield a lot of opportunities, the tie shouldn't have been as tight as the scoreline suggested. I think they'll have learned a lot from it. Theere have of course also been some signings to bring depth and new options.

They've played a string of extremely difficult games in a challenging schedule. Maybe fatigue would get to them if they didn't have next weekend off, there's no gimmies, but this is about as confident I've been about a LOI club in a playoff since Dundalk v KI. I think the tough games Shels have faced will have sharpened them up, Linfield have not had much to conquer. Both sides will be nervy, and that is the biggest wildcard imo.

[total hoofball]

In their match last week Linfield looked alot sharper upfront than in any of the two games against Shels but they still looked susceptible in defence/defensive midfield which will be night & day between what we were up against facing Qarabag and Rijeka defences

Pretty much like the first tie Shels best opportunity to make life easy for ourselves is to wound Linfield at Tolka with 2 or 3 goal win which should have been done at Tolka 6 weeks ago, that 1-0 lead left a squeaky bum night at Windsor in the 2nd leg until their sending off. If we go up to Windsor without any lead or a goal down I won't panic about it

[pineapple stu]

I think Shels have been playing quite well in Europe this season, and no IL side has ever won a game against an LoI side (though they have won a match, as pointed out earlier)

You do fear a bit of regression to mean in that case and a Linfield win. Wouldn't be as confident as outspoken, but generally think his analysis is spot on

Not sure what to expect from Rovers. There's a definite drop-off in the Portuguese league beyond the big guns, but there's way more money there than here too.

[LTFC]

Bodo Glimt won 5 0 tonight against Strum Graz of Austria, almost certainly into Champions league. Some football club.

[sbgawa]

I reckon we will do well to get out with a 1 or 2 nil loss tommorw, looking at Santa Claras results against Benfica, Porto , Sporting lasat season its 1 goal in it stuff and they beat Sporting, IF we were playing any of those teams we would expect to lose comprehensivly. Thats not me trying to lower the bar its just facts and results. Hopefully we can keep it alive but i think we have reached the end of the road.

[nigel-harps1954]

I reckon we will do well to get out with a 1 or 2 nil loss tommorw, looking at Santa Claras results against Benfica, Porto , Sporting lasat season its 1 goal in it stuff and they beat Sporting, IF we were playing any of those teams we would expect to lose comprehensivly. Thats not me trying to lower the bar its just facts and results. Hopefully we can keep it alive but i think we have reached the end of the road.

Scraped through against Croatian opposition, drew 0-0 at home with Larne, and they've lost two out of two in the league without scoring a goal. There's probably never been better time to be facing Portguese opposition in Europe really.

[sbgawa]

Fair point but the Larne tie was over after they won 3 nil in Belfast, we drew nil nil with St Josephs after winning 4 nil away for comparison.
Im hopeful but not optimistic , i just hope we are still in it for the home leg

[Acornvilla]

I think Shels have been playing quite well in Europe this season, and no IL side has ever won a game against an LoI side (though they have won a match, as pointed out earlier)

You do fear a bit of regression to mean in that case and a Linfield win. Wouldn't be as confident as outspoken, but generally think his analysis is spot on

Not sure what to expect from Rovers. There's a definite drop-off in the Portuguese league beyond the big guns, but there's way more money there than here too.
You think all Longford fans look the same? :eek:

[pineapple stu]

Oops!

It's the avatar, sorry!

[pineapple stu]

Bodo Glimt won 5 0 tonight against Strum Graz of Austria, almost certainly into Champions league. Some football club.
It's amazing what they've done with only one non-Scandi player (a Russian) and a ground that looks straight out of the 70s in lower league England (albeit with seats added), and in a town of 40k people

[Acornvilla]

I have a Norwegian pal from the area, who is obviously having a lovely time, he puts a lot of it down to the astro pitch and such a northern location giving them a huge home advantage. They've built such great momentum and managed to sustain it for a long time now thou, so whoever is running the show has done incredibly. I first noticed B/G during Covid lockdowns when they narrowly went out to Milan, might have been the year or two before they hammered Roma!

[Acornvilla]

Oops!

It's the avatar, sorry!
It was a glorious kit, in the greatest footballing era in my life :D

[LTFC]

I have a Norwegian pal from the area, who is obviously having a lovely time, he puts a lot of it down to the astro pitch and such a northern location giving them a huge home advantage. They've built such great momentum and managed to sustain it for a long time now thou, so whoever is running the show has done incredibly. I first noticed B/G during Covid lockdowns when they narrowly went out to Milan, might have been the year or two before they hammered Roma!

Bits i've read mention pitch and geography, but what appeals most is how they have progressed without a massibe financial injection and a small population base.

[Acornvilla]

Asked for some more info, greetings from Norway ;)


Back in the 90s, early 00s Bodø/Glimt was kinda Rosenborg's farmer team. Two teams that played the same attacking style of football (4-3-3) , but with Rosenborg's success it was easy for them to raid B/G for their best players and just fit it into their squad with little to no change to how they play. This made B/G bounce up and down on the table every season. They finished 2nd one year, and then almost got relegated the year after, finished 3rd after that for Rosenborg to raid them again and then they struggled again next season. It was a roller coaster for sure.

B/Gs success lately comes from a lot of hard work and a manager that has brought the teams to new heights, they still play the same 4-3-3 football they have always played. He brought them up from the second tier and with smart player recruiting they started taking over the 1st tier too. A lot of players have used B/G as a stepping stone to higher leagues, like Victor Boniface which is now linked with AC Milan if I'm not mistaken. Prolific goalscorer from Nigeria, that stopped by the artic circle on the way to greatness.

Now of course with their success in Europe they are probably the richest team in Norway, which means they don't need to be a farmer club anymore and they don't need to sell to keep everything going around. Recruitment is still good and they'll let their players go for the right amount of money, so for players it could be a way to showcase their talent for the bigger stages! It's a rag to riches story that is all based on their philosophy and hard work

[BigEars]

Santa Clara vs Rovers is a really interesting tie.

Obviously playing in a much stronger league in Portugal, Santa Clara will be favoured, but in Rovers they're dealing with a much more experienced team when it comes to European football.

The make up of Santa Clara's team is unusual too in that it's mostly Brazilians. While most players are looking to progress to as high a level as they can, you would expect that their turnover of player is higher than the norm and most of these guys are looking to get moves to stronger clubs asap.
I'm reading into things here, but it makes me think they could be fragile if things don't start to go their way early.

Rovers would probably be delighted with a draw out there to set them up for a great chance of going through at home, although no question this is going to be really tough.

[outspoken]

Santa Clara vs Rovers is a really interesting tie.

Obviously playing in a much stronger league in Portugal, Santa Clara will be favoured, but in Rovers they're dealing with a much more experienced team when it comes to European football.

The make up of Santa Clara's team is unusual too in that it's mostly Brazilians. While most players are looking to progress to as high a level as they can, you would expect that their turnover of player is higher than the norm and most of these guys are looking to get moves to stronger clubs asap.
I'm reading into things here, but it makes me think they could be fragile if things don't start to go their way early.

Rovers would probably be delighted with a draw out there to set them up for a great chance of going through at home, although no question this is going to be really tough.

Not actually that unusual for a club like Santa Clara to have a lot of Brazilian players as the lesser funded sides in Portugal often turn to the likes of the second division in Brazil in the hope of unearthing young talent they can then sell on.

There is a huge gap between the top 4 in Portugal and the rest, but playing against such sides regularly can only be a good thing for Santa Clara.

Looking at their wage budget, it's bigger than Rovers but not massively. If Rovers keep it to a 1 goal defeat tonight I reckon they can give it a right rattle in Tallaght.

From what I understand though, Santa Clara are very well organised, as you'd have to be playing clubs like Sporting, Benfica, Porto and Braga regularly so they may not be easy to break down if they do sit in.

[ger121]

Santa Clara vs Rovers is a really interesting tie.

Obviously playing in a much stronger league in Portugal, Santa Clara will be favoured, but in Rovers they're dealing with a much more experienced team when it comes to European football.

The make up of Santa Clara's team is unusual too in that it's mostly Brazilians. While most players are looking to progress to as high a level as they can, you would expect that their turnover of player is higher than the norm and most of these guys are looking to get moves to stronger clubs asap.
I'm reading into things here, but it makes me think they could be fragile if things don't start to go their way early.

Rovers would probably be delighted with a draw out there to set them up for a great chance of going through at home, although no question this is going to be really tough.

The owner of the club is Brazilian.

This tie kind of reminds me of Dundalk vs Vitesse Arnhem. Team from one of the top leagues but not one of the top teams, playing against a side with lots of European experience. That ended up being a very tight tie in the end and I think this could be similar. If Rovers can go to Molde and Vienna and get results, they’ll be thinking similar here.

[geysir]

I think it will be a tough ask for SR. A team 4th or 5th in the Portugese league in their pre-season came to Iceland for a qualifier a few years ago and were many levels above the local team. I'd have more optimism for Shels, though their only real dud game was against Linfield in the first leg, but that's what you get in Europe at times when you are pitted against teams from below your station.

[pineapple stu]

The San Marino side Virtus take the lead in Iceland!

Long way to go, but a great start 12 minutes in!

[2 Year Contract]

A funny one I just remembered from last week when looking on LiveScore at tonight’s fixtures and seeing Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps are playing Braga tonight. While on the way home from the Pats match in Istanbul, we bumped into the Red Imps squad in the airport, who were getting a connecting flight home themselves via Istanbul having won their game in Armenia on penalties the night before. The vast majority of the squad flat out on the McDonald’s and Burger King :D

[Philosophizer]

Good fortune for Shels with the red card. Just don’t do anything stupid like getting one of your own sent off now and you should be able to comfortably win.

[pineapple stu]

Is there VAR in this like in the first tie? Not sure if it's different because this is Conference League and the previous tie was Champions League.

Not entirely convinced that was a red, but Shels will take it I'm sure.

[pineapple stu]

Rovers trailing 20 minutes in, which isn't a good sign.

[ger121]

Seems like a bit of skill opened them up.

[ger121]

Shels can’t be letting these off the hook.

[culloty82]

That awful penalty pretty sums up how poor both sides have been this half.

[Philosophizer]

I could just see that peno miss coming. Mipo doesn’t fill me with confidence. Shels are dominating possession but have shown v little quality in the final third. Their only tactic seems to be getting wide and swinging crosses in. That’s might work, mind you, but I would have expected more from them.

[pineapple stu]

And another peno!

Linfield will be wondering how much this ref is getting paid

[culloty82]

It doesn't matter how close it is to being saved, as long as it goes in!

[BigEars]

It doesn't matter how close it is to being saved, as long as it goes in!

Despite the keeper getting his hand to that, I'd have a lot more confidence in Wood taking penalties than Odubeko.

Odubeko might have slipped, but even his demeanor before the penalty would have you nervous and he's clearly not a natural finisher.

Shels miss Boyd massively whenever he's not available. Even a half fit Boyd gives them someone who can finish.

[ger121]

Big chance now for Shels in the 2nd half to get a 2nd and maybe even a 3rd.

[Kiki Balboa]

Jesus, Alan Cawley is some dose.

[pineapple stu]

And Rovers equalise just before the break

[Philosophizer]

Big chance now for Shels in the 2nd half to get a 2nd and maybe even a 3rd.
They really should come out of this with at least a 2 goal lead and have the tie wrapped up.

[2 Year Contract]

Is there VAR in this like in the first tie? Not sure if it's different because this is Conference League and the previous tie was Champions League.
Yes there is VAR. It’s in place from the Third Qualifying Round and beyond in the Conference League

[pineapple stu]

Odubeko fierce lucky there - but 2-0 is 2-0!

[Acornvilla]

And Rovers equalise just before the break
Rovers look like the better team to be honest, but SC are extremely dangerous on the break. Can see how they operate in the league, give away little and catch teams out. They're very athletic and skillful but Rovers are dealing well enough.

[culloty82]

If they can keep a clean sheet, that should be the tie, you'd think.

[Acornvilla]

Fair play to Outspoken, he called it :D

[ger121]

Big chance now for Shels in the 2nd half to get a 2nd and maybe even a 3rd.

Push for the 3rd now.

[pineapple stu]

Push for the 3rd now.

Jinx!!

[ger121]

I bloody knew it as soon as I posted it.

[Acornvilla]

I really thought that was off tbh!

[pineapple stu]

And Santa Clara re-take the lead

Some going guys! :p

Edit - and now a Linfield penalty! This is a mental game

Edit edit - and the Santa Clara goal ruled out. It's all happening in the last few

[pineapple stu]

And the penalty is saved

Because of course it is

[Nesta99]

Ah Chris Shields is a master - a player you love when he is yours and hate when he is not!

[pineapple stu]

Shels and Rovers score pretty much at exactly the same time

Rovers also had a goal ruled out and Shels hit the bar (or rather Linfield hit the bar for them) at about the same time a few minutes ago.

Looking like a decent evening's work!

[Nesta99]

We can look forward to the collapse next week so! ;)

[2 Year Contract]

I really thought that was off tbh!
Agree with you there, no idea how Barrett only got a yellow for that. He’s deliberately handballed it and stopped a goal scoring opportunity (a near certain goal too you’d imagine)

[Philosophizer]

Bloody hell that’s some result from Rovers away from home. Coming from behind too. Outstanding.