Tonight
Champions League first qualifying round, first leg: Shamrock Rovers v Breidablik
Hoops boss Stephen Bradley got to watch the Icelandic champions in the flesh when he travelled there for the preliminerary round earlier this month, a tournament that saw them progress courtesy of comprehensive wins over teams from San Marino and Montenegro.
They scored 12 goals in those two games, although top scorer Stefan Ingi Sigurdarson left for Belgian second-tier side Patro Eisden for a reported €100,000 last week.
“They have lots of really good movement and move the ball really well,” Bradley explained.
“They’re a possession-based team and are really dangerous with how they move off the ball. They’re a good team and one that we’ll have to be at our very best against if we want to go through over the two legs.”
Rovers are 63 places above them in Uefa rankings but with Lee Grace, Gary O’Neill and, crucially, Jack Byrne not 100% due to injury, this will be another example of experience proving crucial to get the job done.
Where to watch: Kick-off 7.45pm. Live RTÉ 2.
Tomorrow
Europa Conference League first qualifying round, first leg: F91 Diddeleng v St Patrick’s Athletic
Samir Hadji is the experienced striker of the team deposed as champions of Luxembourg last season when they finished third.
The 33-year-old has scored 22 goals in 41 games and notched up 10 assists. A French national, he is the son of former Morocco international Mustapha Hadji, the midfielder who starred for Coventry City and Aston Villa in the Premier League from the late 1990s into the mid 2000s.
“He looks lively, quick,” St Pat’s boss Jon Daly said after their 1-1 draw with Cork City. “We’ve got players who can produce as we’ve seen with Jake [Mulraney] and Chris Forrester. No doubt, they’ll have done their homework on us. Maybe they’ve bought a LOITV pass.”
That last comment was delivered with a mixture of humour and frustration given the overhaul of players this summer. F91, ranked 145th, have the highest co-efficient of any side Pat’s could have drawn and are also still in pre-season.
“We’ve seen a highlights reel of one of their games that you can pick bits from but nothing where you can get a clear idea of what they’re trying to do. It’s oing to be difficult. We’ll try and prepare players as best we can with the limited footage we have,” Daly admitted.
Where to watch: Kick-off: 6.30pm. Streaming information not yet finalised.
Thursday
Europa Conference League, first qualifying round, first leg: HB Torshavn v Derry City
There won’t be a single Derry City fan looking beyond this round (Finnish side Kups Kuopio await the winners) and boss Ruaidhri Higgins probably spoke for them all earlier this week.
“We haven’t gone through a round in Europe in nine years so we’re not in any sort of position to put ourselves on a pedestal, that’s for sure,” he told The Derry Journal.
HB, based in the capital of the Faroe Islands, are 83 places above Derry in the rankings and are unbeaten in three previous ties at home in European competition.
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— Havnar Bóltfelag (@hbtorshavn) July 6, 2023
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They are regarded as technically impressive side capable of maintaining possesssion and also causing damage with sharp, incisive play.
Higgins watched HB lose 2-0 to runaway league leaders KI recently. Without a win in three games there may well be a vulnerability that Derry can capitalise on early.
Derry cannot afford an off night in either leg.
Where to watch: Kick-off: 7pm. Available from LOITV.ie for €10 (not included in LOIT TV season pass).
Thursday
Europa Conference League first qualifying round, first leg: Bruno’s Magpies v Dundalk
The Gibraltarians finished a distant third last season with Lincoln Red Imps the dominant force at the top of the table.
Bruno’s Magpies were formed as a pub team a decade ago but as Dundalk boss Stephen O’Donnell cited ahead of this tie, their recent friendly with Preston North End is another example of their progression on a bigger stage.
They held the Championship side to a 0-0 draw until half time, eventually losing 3-0.
Alfonso Cortijo has returned for a second stint as manager, 18 months after he departed for what he described himself as “a lucrative offer” in China.
There has been a shake up in the backroom staff as a result, while veteran defender Ibrahim Ayew leaves a void at the back now that he joined rivals Red Imps.
Magpies must respond to the return of Cortijo and the changes he attemps to implement.
Where to watch: Kick-off: 5pm. Available from Solidsport platform for €10.
