LAST UPDATE | 20 Jun 2023
SHAMROCK ROVERS ARE due to play the winners of the preliminary round in their Champions League first qualifying round, with all four League of Ireland sides given relatively favourable European draws in Nyon today.
The Hoops moved a step closer to learning their fate after this afternoon’s draw and will be pleased to have avoided Swedish champions BK Häcken, among others. Instead they were paired with the winners of the preliminary round, which will be one of Atlètic Club d’Escaldes (Andorra), Budućnost Podgorica (Montenegro), Tre Penne (San Marino) or Breidablik (Iceland).
Atlètic Club d’Escaldes face Budućnost Podgorica in Tuesday’s semi-finals, while Tre Penne and Breidablik also go head-to-head with the final taking place in Iceland on 30 June.
Stephen Bradley’s Rovers lie in wait for the winners, with the first leg at Tallaght Stadium on 11/12 July.
A win in this tie will be crucial in Rovers’ fulfilling their European expectations. Defeat will parachute them into the second round of the Conference League, from where they will have to win three two-legged ties to match last season’s achievement in qualifying for the Europa Conference League group stages.
If they win their Champions League tie, Rovers would need to win one more tie to be guaranteed group stage football in the Conference League.
Elsewhere in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds, Derry City were drawn against HB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands, avoiding the trickier task of a rematch with Riga, their conquerors last season.
Dundalk, returning to European football having missed out last year, were drawn against FCB Magpies from Gibraltar. They are technically a pub team – or at least, they were – as they were formed by a group of friends who drank in Bruno’s Bar and Restaurant in Gibraltar.
St Patrick’s Athletic got the trickiest of the three Conference League draws, against F91 Diddeleng of Luxembourg. The Conference League ties will be played on 13 and 20 July.
