National league champions St Patrick's Athletic have drawn the little known Zimbru Chisinau from Moldova in the first qualifying round of the European Champions League which begins in two weeks time.
Their opening leg, to be played at home, takes place on July 14th and the return tie a week later on July 21st. St Patrick's manager Liam Buckley was quick to admit yesterday that the Moldovan side were an unknown entity.
"I think any of the teams we could have drawn in this first round would have been unknown to us, and we could have been going anywhere in that area," he said. "We're in the process now of gathering as much information about them as we can but there's nothing wrong with this draw." Zimbru have eight Moldovan internationals in their current panel.
In the UEFA Cup draw, Bray Wanderers come up against the Swiss side Grasshoppers-Zurich in Group 4 and league runners-up Cork City will face Swedish club IFK Gothenburg in Group 5. Both Wanderers and City will play their first leg away on August 12th with the return tie a fortnight later.
Wanderers manager Pat Devlin, who travelled to Geneva for the draw, was satisfied with the Grasshoppers draw. "This is the best we could have expected when you look at some of the other seeded teams in the group," he said. "They're one of the big sides and we're really looking forward to it."
The meeting between Gothenberg and City in Group 5 will also provide one of the most attractive encounters for the Leeside supporters in recent years. "There's no doubt they are a formidable outfit," says manager Dave Barry. "They have a good record in this competition, putting out Rangers two years ago and causing a surprise against Manchester United the year before. Still, it gives us a great lift to play one of the glamour clubs." All three sides will have the opportunity for a competitive warm-up in the National League Super Cup this evening, with Wanderers taking on Shelbourne at Tolka Park and St Patrick's travelling to Turner's Cross to meet Cork City. Both games kick-off at 7.30 with the final and third-place play-off taking place over the weekend.
