The New Saints, Connah’s Quay, Bangor City and Bala Town – all four of the Welsh Premier League’s European entrants for 2017/18 – go into first qualifying round, first leg ties this week.
Two from four progressed from this stage last season, the same the year before, but there is no certainty of a repeat this summer.
Results in preparation for these European games, largely against Northern Irish and Scottish teams, have been unspectacular and changes in managers and personnel have created some unpredictability.
Of the Welsh teams, perennial league champions The New Saints are best-placed to advance. They begin the week’s action on Tuesday starting as favourites against Gibraltarian champions Europa FC in the Champions League first qualifying round.
A dramatic managerial change aside, it’s been a quiet summer for the league’s only full-time outfit. Former player Scott Ruscoe remains interim boss with the club needing to satisfy UEFA criteria in appointing a permanent successor to Craig Harrison next month, and it seems increasingly likely Ruscoe will be a part of whatever that management team looks like moving forward.
The quest for the Saints is ultimately reaching the group stages of either the Champions League or Europa League but they’ve come unstuck in the second qualifying round in the last two seasons.
After holding out for a goalless draw in a disciplined first-leg against APOEL last season, the Saints struggled to compete with the Cypriots in the return leg and were beaten 3-0. The season before they were beaten by Hungarians Videoton in extra-time.
The question remains, can and how The New Saints transfer their domestic success onto the continental stage?
Personnel-wise, the squad has barely changed from last season. Young midfielder Tom Holland arrives from Swansea City and whilst he could make a positive contribution to the Saints squad, the handful of signings believed to have been in the pipeline under Craig Harrison have, for now at least, failed to materialise.
Departing players have overshadowed those coming in at the other Welsh clubs and Connah’s Quay and Bangor City can expect to miss Les Davies and Henry Jones respectively.
Jones was arguably the best talent plying his trade in the WPL last season and rejected the chance to stay at Bangor in favour of a move to newly promoted National League outfit AFC Fylde. The club’s new management team of Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Kevin Nicholson have been able to bring in a handful of players – not least returning Brayden Shaw who has inked a permanent move to Nantporth after an impressive loan spell early last season – but they can expect to find the going very tough against Danish Superliga side Lyngby.
With memories of last season’s impressive European displays still fresh, Connah’s Quay also face a tough Scandinavian tie. They face HJK who’re runaway leaders in Finland’s Veikkausliiga.
Connah’s Quay defeated Norweigians Stabaek against the odds last year before another gutsy second qualifying round performance in which they fell short to Serbia’s Vojvodina.
With a solid league campaign behind them, the Nomads are breeding stability after tying manager Andy Morrison to a three-year deal during which time they will switch into a full-time professional club, but the club are lacking a replacement for their main striker Les Davies, whose departure only strengthens rivals Bala Town. Like Bangor, the club have introduced a handful of new faces but one wonders whether they are stronger than the group of players which led them to last season’s runners-up spot.
That leaves Bala Town, who might just be the only Welsh club to be in a stronger position than what they were at the end of last season. The addition of Davies gives Colin Caton a burly, experienced forward to spearhead his team against FC Vaduz of Lichtenstein. Of the three Europa League clubs, the Lakesiders can perhaps be considered the more likely to progress – it will be a remarkably difficult task for them nonetheless.
First qualifying round, first leg ties:
Champions League
Tuesday 7.00 The New Saints v Europa FC
Europa League
Thursday 4.30 Lyngby v Bangor City
Thursday 7.00 Connah’s Quay v HJK (@ Bangor City)
Thursday 7.00 Bala Town v FC Vaduz (@Rhyl FC)
Featured image: Courtesy of NCM Media/Connah’s Quay/Welsh Premier League
