Potential opponents for the draws today: https://www.leagueofireland.ie/news/...rope-revealed/
Some really really handy games for shels in the Conference League playoff round. Some very difficult ones for Rovers in it, and for Pats, the options are all a lot easier than Besiktas but it’s more or less an irrelevant draw because there’s no chance they go through that tie
Paaatrick's Agletic
Shels would be delighted with that. Assuming that it's the unseeded teams who lose their matches, it's Egnatia and KuPS would could possibly cause problems.Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract
We beat KuPS two years ago, but there was nothing between the two sides. They'll also have to play their game 300km away in Tampere.
All Rovers ones are stinkers. In that position, I'd just hope to get Santa Clara. You'll get a cracking, unique away to trip to São Miguel.
And Santa Clara it is for rovers. Shels more or less qualified for the conference league now after drawing the winners of Vikingur of Faroe Islands or Linfield again. Pats (Besiktas) drew the winner of Lausanne (Switzerland) or Astana (Kazakhstan)
Paaatrick's Agletic
Very happy with those potential draws for Shels I still hope we can do the business against Rijeka but if that doesn't happen potentially Linfield again would be incredible
The Leinster Senior League needs a strong Bohemians
Best draws possible, I suppose.
I wouldn't go as far to say Shels are "more or less qualified", but they've an excellent chance. They only beat Linfield 2-1, mind.
Maybe Rovers will feel as if they have a chance too? They finished fifth in Liga Portugal last year, will be out of season, and maybe complacent. Properly jealous of the away trip though. I'd certainly recommend staying for a few days, hiring a car, and seeing the island. It's an unusual place.
Shels have a very good chance. Rovers got as best they could out of the mini group they were in. I think Larne could push Santa Clara.
They tend to do well in Europe in recent years.
Pat’s definitely got an awful 3rd round draw when you look at the 2 potential opponents in the PO Round.
Chance of 2 sides in the League Phase so all to play for.
Shels need to avoid complacency if they play Linield again. They should be well able to beat them over 2 legs, but only won last month by 2-1 - and that was against a Linfield team who were out of season. Their match fitness will be better in 3/4 weeks time.
They'd probably want to not be complacent about Vikingur either btw
Who's at home first if Shels get through to the next round?
Agree with the above on Santa Clara, definitely the best tie rovers could’ve got from a very tough unseeded grouping of teams. Outside of Sporting, Benfica, Porto and Braga, Portuguese clubs aren’t anything near their league’s coefficient as 7th best in Europe, they’re massively carried by those 4 clubs in that regard, much like Scotland is by Celtic and Rangers. I think Rovers could definitely put it up to them
Paaatrick's Agletic
I’ve been to games in Portugal and the gulf in class outside the top 3-4 teams in huge. Would remind you of countries such as Scotland or the Netherlands in that respect.
Not sure if any of you listen to the Sweeper podcast but they love Santa Clara because they are based in the Azores but have played in the top flight on and off (more off) in the last couple of decades.
Was never going to be a cake walk for Rovers come through the league path, even seeded. The draw was full of land mines on the PO round.
We will get a good idea of how good they are after the larne match
The difference in draw opponents between Shels and Rovers only reinforces the belief that the LOI champions should in all honesty get into Group stages every year - If shels mess it up it's their own fault.
Agree about the drop in quality in Liga Portugal outside the top 4 but it remains technically far,far superior to LOI football imo.
Let's hope (a) Rovers can get past Balkani and (b) Larne do us a favour
If we win the league this year , which we should now we will most likely be seeded in round 1 and 2 of the Champions league next year.
Without some bad luck we really should be making groups
Below are the unseeded teams from rounds 1 and 2 this year in the Champios path.
Rovers would have to win these two rounds to guarantee Group stages without having to rely on a softish draw in the PO round which you will get anyway as thats the nature of the champions path.
1st Round Inter Club 'dEscaldes AND 7.5 Shkendija Tetovo Mac 7.5 Levadia Tallinn Est 6.5 Dinamo Minsk BLS 6.5 Hamrun Spartans MLT 6 Milsami Orhei MOL 5.5 Kairat Almaty Kaz 5.5 FC Noah ARM 5 Differdange 03 LUX 5 Iberia 1999 GEO 4.5 Vikingur Far 4 Shelbourne Ire 2.993 Egnatia Rrogozhine ALB 2.5 AC Virtus SMA 1.5 2nd Round NK RIJEKA Cro 12 Hamrun Spartans MLT 12 Pafos CYP 11.125 RFS Riga Lat 11 Zrinjski Mostar BOS 10 Lincoln red imps GIB 10 KUPS Fin 10 Shkendija MAC 9 FC Drita KOS 9 Breidablik ISL 9 Shelbourne IRL 8.5 FC Noah ARM 8.5
Only 4 non seeds highlighted above won in the first round Shels over Linfield, Shkendija over Welsh club TNS, FC Noah over the lowest seeded team in round 1 Buducnsst (MON) and Hamrun Spartnas over Zalgris from Lituania.
Seeding is Huge
Last edited by sbgawa; 05/08/2025 at 1:55 PM.
Agreed. It should be the exception that the league champions don't qualify.
I do think we're heading that way, the league co eff position has a pretty hard ceiling, but there is still some room for improvement as time progresses, if champions keep qualifying and picking up points in group stages who knows what's possible, other smaller leagues can do the same of course, but maybe we've gotten a bit of a head start in that regard. Shels have the opportunity to make major strides for both themselves and the league if they do make the groups. They really should, and I would give Rovers a fighting chance, experience and match fitness will play its part if they get to the PO, which they should expect themselves to.
It's tough to know how much of an addition the Europa league spot will be if any because it is markedly more difficult that the ECL, and might on average be harder than the Champions league rnd 1 unless you're seeded like Rovers or lucky to get a minnow like Shels. Outside of Rovers, maybe only someone like Pat's could be seeded in rnd 1 if they won the cup. Extra money aside we might just have teams jumping in there to lose two legs, and praying for a kind ECL rnd 2 draw.
I think there is scope for individual clubs co efficient to improve quite a bit, or at least for the leagues to be at a point where all of out teams are always seeded in ECL rnd 1. Not many will ever reach what Rovers have done, and the champions route is such an advantage in that regard, but we could see other clubs getting themselves in to the ECL 3rd round yearly over the next while with the nature of how weak the first couple of rounds of the ECL can be. Pat's are making a solid fist of building their ranking up over a prolonged period. They've had 1 bad season in 4? hitting P0 or 3rd round the other 3 seasons, they have to qualify again ofc but that's the sort of form that would see a team seeded in the first 2 rounds every year in the long term
Rnd 3 onwards will forever be extremely difficult in any competition no matter how well the league does, but it's nice to see a relatively solid baseline being built, hopefully it can be sustained. Having 4 clubs next year would be a good start
Last edited by Acornvilla; 05/08/2025 at 9:00 PM.
What's Rovers co-efficient, Projected best case within reason too. Im being lazy, I could look it up myself...
If Rovers repeated what they did last season, 5 years in a row they'd be in the top 50. That kind of craic would probably see you seeded the whole way through Champions league qualifying.
I think CL rnd 2 will always have a few landmines no matter how high your ranking is thou. There can even be the odd dodgy Rnd 1 draw.
This year if they only make it to the PO round and lose they will get about 2.5 points or so? Nothing major, but it's not a bad return by the leagues standards generally. They got just under 10 points last season for comparison. I think Making the groups can be largely expected of a champion, but last year should probably be treated as the exception not the rule in terms of how well the groups can go once you're in them!
There has never been a better time to be a LOI club regularly qualifying for Europe
17.88 and rising to 18.38 next year even if we lose to Balkani as the 5th oldest year in our ranking this year is only 1.5 points and we are guaranteed 2 points this year alraedy
On the LOI central podcast this a.m Dan McDonnal was saying its not impossible that Rovers (but not likely) could get a bye through the first round next year.
This year they would have been the 3rd highest seed in the CL first round. another group stages this year (big ask) and a bye would not be impossible.
This is why Shels need to take advantage of the kind draw and get to Groups, you cant miss these chances when they come
Last edited by sbgawa; 06/08/2025 at 8:03 AM.
I suppose St. Pats & fans will have a nice holiday trip to Besiktas of Turkey to look forward before exiting the Europa Conference League!
I've been to Besiktas, and would urge Pats fans thinking about it to go. It's a great stadium, and the atmosphere at their games is intense
The LOI have been one of the main beneficiary's of the new Euro structures. With the first round being made up entirely of leagues 31-55 it's meant there isn't the chance to draw bigger sides in round one and get bounced out with no co-efficient points.
Since the conference league came in in 21/22 we've been pretty consistently winning ties against teams from these leagues and as such we've risen to the top of this bottom tier (31-55).
The actual floor and ceiling of what the LOi's co-efficient could realistically be this season has never been so drastic at this stage before. If 2 clubs get into the group stages it's very possible we could finish in the top 20 for the season. If none fail to qualify then it will be closer to 40th.
Shels are more likely to actually reach the group stages with their path but Rovers are far more likely to pick up results in the groups stages if they make it.
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