Hard to see Cork getting past any of those tbh.
Really nasty draw. There weren't many teams we would have been close to favourites against but we missed all of those. Even of the three you'd think we have an outside chance against include Malmo (who will be out for revenge for 2004) and Rosnborg (who will be wary of us after Dundalk last year) so we don't even get the element of surprise.
The drop into the Europa League round 2 is a great safety net though.
One bright side is If you manage to pull one off against a seeded team you take their seeding and have a decent shot at going another round in CL.
I think they'll have gotten over it since then.
Harsh draw now.
HJK would be the first choice, presumably? They're the lowest ranked, and I don't think it's out of the question that Cork could beat them. In last year's EL, they beat Connah's Quay 3-1, and lost to Shkëndija of Macedonia 4-2.
Id go for Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria, seen them live twice as they have played here in Basel. But they are a rubbish team but extremely cynical, diving and fouling all throughout each game. Last time (two seasons ago), Basel somehow drew with them home and away when we should have easily won both games. Before that (the year or so before) we bet them easy. They are NOT a good team.
Id also got for HJK
Otherwise its a c££t of a draw for Cork
The Sun is quick off the mark
https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football...st-round-draw/EUROVISION SSE Airtricity League champions Cork City avoid Scottish giants Celtic but could face the likes of Ludogorets, Legia Warsaw and Malmo in Champions League first round draw
UEFA have split the 32-team draw into three different groups meaning the Leesiders will avoid the Scottish champions
HJK have to be beatable.
The rest - not so.
I see if Cork lose, they drop into EL round 2 as a seed - where they have a 1 in 16 chance of a bye, if I read wiki properly. That would be nice
I know I wouldn't have gotten over it. I'd say it was pretty embarrasing for them to lose home and away to us. We have a very good record in Sweden since then, beating Djurgardenthe following season on away goals and Hacken two years. None of those three teams respected us and it proved their undoing. Hammabry however realised we were to be taken seriously and knocked us out.
Helsinki definitely the preference. Their Euro record isn't outstanding lately, beating teams you'd expect them to beat and not beating anyone you wouldn't expect them to beat.
Ludogorets finished second in their EL group last year going unbeaten with a win and a draw against Hoffenheim and Braga. No thanks!
That's correct as far as we're aware. Even if we don't get the bye it would be against other teams who have already lost in the CL so in theory winnable. We would fancy ourselves as one of the better unseeded CL teams.
They lost 1-0 to AC Milan last year.
Beat Hoffenheim 2-1 at home and drew 1-1 away.
4 points off Braga too.
The year before, they drew v PSG and then lost 2-1 to Copenhagen.
They drew with Liverpool and lost by one goal to them in the CL groups.
Rubbish they are not
Malmo were beaten by Vardar of Macedonia last year, 4-2 on aggregate. They were in the group stages of the Champions League in 15-16 and scored one goal, they fared slightly better the year previous, winning one game in the Group Stage against Olympiacos, losing all the rest. They squeezed past the so-called lower opponents to get that far though on both occasions, 14-15 and 15-16, winning 1-0 on aggregate in their first European rounds.
It looks much worse than it is really. Either one of Malmo or Helsinki is winnable. Finnish football is on an even par with Irish football and they shouldn't fear Helsinki.
It's was proven last season by an underperforming Dundalk that Rosenborg were average enough.
Ludogorets and Legia are the sides they want to be avoiding.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
I want Malmo. If not, I want HJK. Rosenberg would give us an outside chance. Legia or Ludogorets, no chance.
[/B][I]P.Esc.
I think overall Finnish football is ahead of the LoI; look how comfortably Rovers were beaten a year or two ago for example.
But Cork (and Dundalk) are way ahead of the other LoI clubs, so that'll hopefully help even it up.
That said - not convinced by Caulfield in Europe. Some very poor results in the last three years
They are rubbish, that's just results you are reeling off wiki, good lad. Anyone can do that. I would much prefer you to tell me their style of play, their danger men, why you think they are a good team? Im sure Cork wouldn't just rely on the internet to check them out if they drew them.
It depends on what level you expect the LOi to be at. We should be moving on from jizzing or pants when we beat Maltese or Luxembourg (yes you UCD!! lol) teams. Dundalk set the bar high
Yes, they're results. That's how you judge a team. You did it yourself - said they'd get hammered by any decent European side. Not true. They've results an LoI team can't even dream of. They're also quite consistent in the qualifying rounds, one upset against a Moldovan side apart. And of course, their budget is streets ahead of Cork's, and they seem to use it in part to mop up the best national talent, as seen by their record in the underage leagues.
"Rubbish" is a daft evaluation of them. They're better than Cork.
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