The inflammatory "Irish minnows" headline
When the draws for European competition were made back in June, even the most optimistic of fans would have been forced to concede that the chances of having three Irish teams still participating in Europe in the third qualifying round were slim.
However, after some valiant and admirable displays, that is the exact scenario that we find ourselves in in early August. While Shamrock Rovers' win over the Maltese champions guaranteed that they would be participating in a playoff (QR4) at minimum, Sligo Rovers' and St. Patrick's Athletic's fortunes were far from secure.
Shamrock Rovers have had mixed fortunes with the draws they have been given by Uefa this year but overall, they would have to be considered quite positive. The favourable draw of Hibernians in QR1 opened up a path for a long summer of European football for them and the draw they have received should they lose to Shkupi on Thursday night is also an approachable one. The others have been tough. The Ludogorets one was a very challenging task but Stephen Bradley's men will undoubtedly rue the concession of a third goal in the dying seconds in Bulgaria which ultimately proved too much of a mountain to climb in Tallaght despite a courageous display to win the game 2-1 and give the Bulgarians a real scare. If they do beat Shkupi, a team who ran Dinamo Zagreb extremely close in the previous round of the Champions League, they will face the loser of Qarabag and Ferencvarosi in a playoff for the Europa League group stage. While an incredibly difficult tie, it would be a completely free shot with the Hoops guaranteed group stage football by that time in any case. The Shkupi game could go either way, but it is safe to say that Rovers will be disappointed to not be at least in the group stages of the Conference League this season, something which can be guaranteed with a big performance against the North Macedonian champions to alleviate the pressure of a must-win playoff against the champions of either Kosovo or the Faroe Islands. The Tallaght outfit will know that a positive result in their home first leg will be almost a prerequisite to progess.
I touched a little bit in my preview of Pat's and Mura on the fact that there was little pressure on Tim Clancy's men and they really harnessed that to knock the Slovenians out. It is a similar situation again as they take on CSKA Sofia, a team who finished second in Bulgaria last season. However, they did finish 21 points behind champions Ludogorets in the end. The Saints can take confidence from their previous round victory as well as how close Rovers ended up running Ludogorets in the end. As is the case with all away games, staying in the game over there must be the priority as it was what ultimately beat Shamrock Rovers. Unfortunately for Pat's, Richmond Park doesn't meet the requirements to stage the game but playing in a ground like Tallaght can never be seen as a drawback and hopefully the bigger capacity will help to draw a bigger attendance. While CSKA are heavily fancied, so were Mura. In Europe, you can never know.
Two excellent performances over Motherwell after knocking out Bala Town have landed Sligo here.
Social media debates raged in the days after Sligo's victory as to how much of an upset the result was. I mentioned in my preview of the tie that the clash would be an interesting comparison between Ireland and Scotland in a proper competition. The somewhat incendiary label of "minnows" awarded by a certain British newspaper caused much offence to the League of Ireland community, something I would be inclined to agree with. The quality of Scotland's top flight is heavily skewed by the two Glasgow clubs. The Bit O' Red's success is further evidence of that statement. In my opinion, Sligo's triumph is an excellent result but not the upset of all upsets that many are suggesting.
Thursday night sees John Russell's men take on Viking of Norway. Clearly a good side, they come into the tie on the back of a narrow win over Sparta Prague in QR2. They will no doubt prove a tough test for Rovers but if they can keep the tie alive in Norway, they can be hopeful of making use of a packed Showgrounds, courtesy of Uefa derogation which allows them to play the game there. They can take inspiration from Shamrock Rovers and St. Patrick's Athletic with regard to giving teams who would have been considered favourites something to think about.
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