Shelbourne face potential clash with European regulars Qarabag in Champions League second round
Advertisement
2
Shelbourne could face Qarabag if they get past Linfield in the Champions League
2
Shelbourne manager Damien Duff and his side get their Euro campaign underway in July
The first leg would be at home on July 22 or 23, with the away leg the following week.
The Baku-based outfit are one of the toughest potential opponents are are group stage regulars having reached that stage of one of
Last season, they reached the Europa League groups by virtue of qualifying for the
And they previous experience against Irish opposition beating Dundalk 4-1 on aggregate in the Champions League in 2019.
Advertisement
read more on football
Manager Gurban Gurbanov has been in charge for 18 years and his squad also provides the backbone of the Azerbaijan national team - five that featured against Hungary last week were Qarabag players.
Shelbourne know that victory over Linfield will also guarantee them the 'champions path' which means they are guaranteed three more ties even if they lose.
That route guarantees €1.75 million in prize money and it can rise to €3.87 million if they win one tie, as it guarantees Conference League group stages at least.
But defeat to Linfield would see Shelbourne parachuted into the Conference League second round and needing to win three consecutive ties to make the group stages.
Advertisement
Most read in Football
Live Blog
If the Reds are in the Conference League, they will have a tie with Lithuanians Zalgiris or Maltese outfit Hamrun Spartans with the first leg due to be away on July 24 and home on July 31.
But the pick of the Conference League ties for Irish clubs is the potential meeting between Shamrock Rovers and Belfast outfit Cliftonville.
Harry Kane enjoys makeshift ice bath in WHEELIE BIN after 10-0 Bayern Munich rout in Club World Cup opener
The Hoops enter the competition at the second round phase by virtue of their high ranking which saw them given a first round bye following Drogheda United's expulsion.
But they will now watch the first round closely as they face the winners of Cliftonville or Gibraltar outfit St Joesph's - who Shelbourne beat last year.
Advertisement
St Patrick's Athletic also learnt they will face Kalju of Estonia or Partizani of Albania if they beat Hegelmann of Lithuania in the first round of the Conference League with the first leg at home.
But the three Dublin clubs could potentially see ties and dates move as UEFA do not allow clubs to play on the same day in the same city.
That is potentially a problem for Rovers and Shels, but also because of a potential clash between Cliftonville and Linfield as well.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
25 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Rovers come from behind to dump Shels out of the cup
Shamrock Rovers dumped holders Shelbourne out of the FAI Cup at the quarter-final stage with a thrilling come-from-behind victory at a feisty Tolka Park. Two goals in a minute after the break did the damage for The Hoops who continued their Tolka Park hoodoo over the Reds - unbeaten in five now in Drumcondra - despite falling behind to an excellent team goal, finished off by Pearl Slattery in the first half. With maybe a potential hint of revenge stirring in visitors dressing room following last season's dramatic loss at the same stage, in which a jubilant Jemma Quinn planted the Shelbourne flag in the middle of the Tallaght pitch, the Hoops started brightly with flying wingers Anna Butler and Ella Kelly looking to get in behind the Shels back three on every occasion. But the home side, who now sit top of the tightly contested league table having leapfrogged Athlone Town at the summit racking up three wins on the spin, showed good patience and played their way into the hotly contested encounter. With little in the way of goalmouth action, it took until just after 20-minutes for the first shot in anger and was well worth the wait for the 705 in attendance. Started by last week's match winner against Waterford, Alex Kavanagh, the home side put together a passing move of the highest quality followed by a majestic turn and pass by Aoibheann Clancy in the middle. The Irish international then played a perfectly weighted slide rule pass to Slattery, who had stayed forward following an earlier set-piece, and the skipper finished with all the quality of seasoned number nine through the legs of Summer Lawless. The hosts then went close to doubling their lead shortly after when Noelle Murray sprayed a wonderful left footed pass on the diagonal finding Mackenzie Anthony who broke the offside trap and hit a rasping effort that was agonisingly close to finding the near top corner, catching Lawless off guard. Having nicked a win at Tolka earlier in the season, and having relative success in recent times Stephanie Zambra's side held no fear and kept plugging away but were dealt a huge blow just before the break when Maria Reynolds looked distraught picking up an injury. On the stroke of half time Anthony really should have gotten herself on the scoresheet when Scarlett Herron slipped on a through ball and spilled into the American's path. Anthony again missed the target by a matter of inches dragging her low shot just wide of the target. After a slight tactical change that saw Aine O'Gorman switch to right back following Reynolds injury, Zambra must have also read her side the riot act as her side punished Shels misses with two goals in a minute to completely flip the game on its head. Firstly, the towering Scarlett Herron powered in a back post header from a deep corner before Anna Butler nipped in to take advantage of a sloppy Keeva Kenna pass straight from the resulting tip off and slotted home to give her side the lead. With a sense of anxiety beginning to swirl around Tolka, it was Wearen's turn to look to the bench introducing the match winner from last seasons quarter final Megan Smyth-Lynch and the exciting young Maeve Wollmer. With 15 minutes left the latter spurned yet another chance for the home side as she found herself free at the back post but somehow screwed her shot back across goal from a couple of yards out. With time running out the visitors frustrated the home side with some intricate play in the final third and continued to carry a goal threat but it was now or never for Shels as they threw the kitchen sink at Rovers. In a dramatic ending, the talismanic Murray curled a stunning effort off the bar that, most inside the ground thought was destined for the top corner, and with a couple of minutes left Kavanagh played an inch perfect ball over the top onto Anthony's chest, who rounded Lawless with her first touch. Just as it looked as if the Shels striker was tapping home into an empty net, somehow the Rovers stopper got back around to claw the goal bound strike away with one of the saves of the season to ensure her side progressed to the semi-final. Shelbourne: Amanda McQuillan; Nia Hannon (Maeve Wollmer, 67'), Pearl Slattery, Keeva Keenan (Jemma Quinn, 83'); Jess Gargan, Alex Kavanagh, Rachel Graham (Megan Smyth-Lynch, 72'), Aoibheann Clancy, Leah Doyle; Noelle Murray, Mackenzie Anthony Subs not used: Courtney Maguire, Rebecca Devereux, Gabriella Del Pico, Lucy O'Rourke, Aoife Sheridan, Sarah McCaffrey Shamrock Rovers: Summer Lawless; Fiona Owens, Scarlett Herron, Maria Reynolds (Claire O'Reilly, 46'), Aoife Brophy; Anna Butler (Della Cowper-Gray, 88'), Melissa O'Kane, Jamie Thompson, Ella Kelly; Aine O'Gorman, Emily Corbet
Irish Examiner
25 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Bohs' trophy hopes slide away again as Elding guides Sligo to Cup upset
FAI Cup: Bohemians 0 Sligo Rovers 1 Sam Sargeant saved a penalty before Owen Elding scored another cracking goal at Dalymount Park to leave Bohemians looking back in anger at their FAI Cup exit. Sligo Rovers have enjoyed some big cup days and nights at the home of Irish football. The Bit O' Red lifted their first FAI Cup at Dalymount on a rain-sodden afternoon in 1983. Their more recent back-to-back wins in 2010 and 2011 came after narrow semi-final victories over Bohemians at the Phibsborough venue when current manager John Russell was a player. And they put their league struggles behind them to delight their 400-strong travelling support to book their spot in the quarter-final of this year's competition. Beaten finalists twice in the last four years, Bohs' quest for another Blue Riband will now stretch to 18 years. Sporting their all light blue 'oasis' kit, given the weekend that's in it, Bohemians were put on the back foot early on as Sligo started with plenty of purpose. And as they struggled to get into the game, Bohs survived a right let off on 14 minutes. A mistake by skipper Keith Buckley gifted the ball to Jad Hakiki who skipped into the clear in Bohs' half. But a poor touch allowed James Talbot to get to the ball first to avert the danger. Having scarcely been in the game, Bohs then conjured the first real sight of goal a minute later. Dayle Rooney put opposite winger Connor Parsons away on the left. And though the Englishman cleverly cut past Conor Reynolds, his drive was saved by Sergeant at the keeper's right-hand post. Very much alive in the game now, Bohs troubled Sligo again minutes later from Rooney's corner, Douglas James-Taylor meeting the delivery to plant his header wide. Sligo midfielder Sebastian Quirk was likewise off target with a shot at the other end from Sligo's third corner of the night in an open contest. With Sligo back enjoying a spell of concerted pressure, Buckley had to clear Patrick McClean's header off the line from Ryan O'Kane's corner in the big chance of the half. Moments later winger O'Kane saw his ball into the area whizz past the far post. The end-to-end action continued as half-time approached, Parsons firing wide of the Sligo goal after skilfully working the opening before Sargeant tipped away a dangerous cross-shot from Rooney. Twice coming close to taking the lead just before the interval, Bohs blew a real chance to do so three minutes into the second half after McClean tripped Devoy to concede a penalty. Sargeant chose the right way to bat away Rooney's spot kick. James-Taylor was then guilty of blazing over the top after Ross Tierney put the rebound back into the area. Six minutes later, Sligo punished poor defending to take the lead with a fine goal. The tenacity of Fitzgerald nicked the ball off Buckley to feed it on to Elding. The 19-year-old, who scored on his last visit to Dalymount in June, needed little invitation to take on the shot first time with his left foot to drill it past Talbot to the bottom corner for his 10th goal of the season. With Bohs chasing the game now, Sergeant made his second telling save of the night to tip over a Rooney cross that had deflected goalwards off defender Ollie Denham. Try as they might, Bohs couldn't conjure an equaliser with Sargeant there again with another top stop to deny substitute Rhys Brennan on 90 minutes. Bohemians: Talbot; Morahan, Byrne, Kavanagh (Smith, 54), Flores; Buckley (McDonnell, 67), Devoy; Rooney (Brennan, 67), Tierney, Parsons; James-Taylor (Whelan, 74). Sligo Rovers: Sargeant; Reynolds (Agbaje, 51), Denham, McClean, Stewart; Harkin, Quirk; O'Kane (Patton, 81), Hakiki (Manning, 81), Fitzgerald; Elding. Referee: Kevin O'Sullivan (Cork). Attendance: 4,246
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
McCormack scratches his 20-year McIlroy itch with first Irish Close Championship
Eddie McCormack (Galway Bay) claimed his first Irish Senior Men's Amateur Close Championship in emphatic style at Nenagh Golf Club on Friday afternoon, twenty years after losing the final of the Irish Men's Amateur Close Championship to a young Rory McIlroy. Deirdre Smith also walked away with silverware, as the County Louth golfer overturned the disappointment of losing last year's decider in Kilkeel to claim a dramatic Irish Senior Women's Amateur Close Championship win on the 19th hole of her playoff against Sinead Benedetti (Roscommon). Karl Bornemann (Douglas) retained his Irish Veteran Men's Amateur Close Championship, and it was Fionnuala Halpin (Dun Laoghaire) who claimed the Irish Senior Women's Amateur Close Plate. The Senior Men's final would be a battle of two champions, as reigning Irish Senior Men's Close Stroke Play champion McCormack took on Irish Senior Men's Open Champion, Andrew Morris (Royal Portrush) in the final, after the pair battled past Pat Murray (Adare Manor) and David Hunt (Nenagh) in the morning semi-finals. McCormack would get in front early and, by his own admission, kept 'the foot to the floor' as he made the turn, 6up thru nine, before sealing his 7&6 victory on the 12th hole to become the first player to win both the Irish Close Stroke Play and Match Play in the same season. 'Delighted to be champion, played very, very well today, especially this afternoon,' said McCormack 'I felt as if I couldn't give him (Morris) breathing space at all because he is such a good player.' 'Any win is a nice win. It's nice to win an Irish title, it's another one to relish.' Reminiscing on his match against McIlroy in the final of the Men's Close at Westport two decades ago, McCormack smiled at the memory. 'He was phenomenal, so he was, I was afraid of him that day,' said McCormack. 'I didn't win the close 20 years ago but I won it today so it's brilliant.' SMOOTH EXIT: Deirdre Smith who won the Irish Senior Men's & Women's Close Championships, Nenagh, Tipperary Pic: INPHO/Leah Scholes Leading qualifier Smith advanced to the final of the Irish Senior Women's Amateur Close thanks to a 5&3 win against Maria O'Reilly (Headfort) while Benedetti had a 3&1 victory over Tracy Eakin (Dooks). It was an enthralling final and when Smith got up and down from a greenside bunker on 18 to force a playoff, she had the momentum behind her and won with a par on the first extra hole. 'I lost it in pretty poor fashion last year and I was really disappointed, so I set out to exorcise those demons today,' said Smith. 'Anytime you win an Irish championship it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication and a lot of soul searching at times and to be proud of that is good. They are the really important things; the trophy is not really what it's all about it's all the other stuff that people don't see.' At the R&A Boys' Amateur at County Louth, there was disappointment for John Doyle, who lost on the 20th in his quarter-final to Spaniard Yago Horno. The Fota Island teenager was 2up with four holes to play, but Horno won 15 and 16, and then took the match on the second extra hole. Doyle's defeat ended Irish hopes of a first win since 1986. Horno defeated Sweden's Oscar Stendahl by two holes in the semi-final and will play the Netherlands' Guus Lafeber, son of former European Tour player Maarten, in the final.
