Cork City will face Swedish side Malmo in the First round of the Intertoto Cup after Tuesday’s draw in Switzerland.
The first leg will be away from home on June 19/20 with the second leg at Turner’s Cross taking place the following week on June 26/27. Should they see off Malmo, they will then face a side from the Netherlands though the identity of their possible opponent will not be known until the Dutch League ends in May.
Malmo have a great European pedigree and will be competing in European competition for the 27th time in their history. Their European pinnacle was in 1979 when they reached the European Cup final losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest while domestically, they are Sweden’s most successful club with 14 League titles and 14 Cups to their name.
Last season, they finished third in the Swedish League – matching Cork City’s finish in the eircom League – to qualify for the Intertoto Cup.
Only once have they faced Irish opposition before when they saw off Dundalk 4-0 on aggregate in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup, though Cork City will take heart from their own record against Swedish opposition.
In their only previous clash with Swedish opposition in 1999, Cork earned an impressive 1-0 victory over Gothenburg in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup after losing the first leg 3-1.
Ireland’s last two entrants in the Intertoto Cup, St Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers, have both recorded impressive first round wins against HJK Rijeka of Croatia and Polish side Odra Wodzislaw respectively, though Cork may face a harder task with, unlike Pats and Rovers’ opponents, Malmo play summer football and will be in top form for the tie.
06/04/2004, 1:46 PM
max power
well may be the first to wish cork all the best and all going well a few el fans from different parts of the country will be in turners cross for the return leg....
06/04/2004, 3:00 PM
tiktok
cheers max :)
but despite the article Malmo and City could both end up promoted to the UEFA cup due to the fair play standings so the fixture is not 100% afaik. would be special though.
07/04/2004, 7:48 AM
ccfcman
unlikely that cork will get the "promotion" we're in 8th or so on that table
