Inside Left.net

The draw for the first qualifying round of the Europa League took place this earlier on today. Included in the draw where last years winner of the Fair Play League, Motherwell, and Scottish Cup runners-up Falkirk.

Motherwell wont have to travel too far for their two games. They’ve been drawn against Welsh side Llanelli, while Falkirk will play Vaduz of Liechtenstein at the second qualifying stage.

Compared to Motherwell, Llannelli are a side with considerable European pedigree. As champions of the Welsh Premier League, the Tinmen entered the first qualifying round of last years Champions League where, over two legs they lost out to Latvian side FK Ventspils. Prior to that, Llanelli went out in the first round of the 2007/08 InterToto Cup. Drawn against Lithuanian side FK Vetra and losing 3-1 in the first leg, the Welsh side managed to win 5-3 at home, but went out on the away goals rule. Their longest European run came in the 2006/07 Uefa Cup when they got through their first qualifying round draw against Swedish side team Gefle IF, but then went lost 6-1 on aggregate to Danish side Odense BK.

Llannelli finished second last year, losing only three games at home last season, while scoring 98 goals along the way. Interestingly enough, a former player of the Welsh side is one John ‘Jock’ Stein who signed for the then non-league side in 1950 from Cowdenbeath. His career didn’t last long – homesickness soon had him back in Glasgow courtesy of a £1,200 (approximately £30,000 in today’s money) transfer to Celtic. The ties will be played on July 2nd and July 9th, with the Scottish leg being played at Airdrie’s Excelsior Stadium – by that time, Motherwell will hopefully have appointed a manager..

Another side heading into their first ever European game are Falkirk. Narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day of the season, the Bairns nevertheless managed to qualify for the Europa League on account of their appearance in the Scottish Cup Final in May. Despite losing 1-0 on the day, as Champions Rangers had already qualified for Europe via the Champions League, thus allowing Falkirk to take their place (this is somewhat similar to how Queen of the South got into Europe last year).

Falkirk, like Motherwell, are still looking for a manager, but by the time their game will be played on the 16th July, Eddie May and former player Steven Pressley should be installed as the new management team. For the Bairns, a trip in to the heart of Europe has them taking on the only full-time professional football team in the country – FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein. Despite being relegated at the end of the Swiss football season, “The Residenzler” are no slouches when it comes to European football, having been regular competitors in both the Uefa and Cup Winners Cup since 1992. Livingston struggled past the Liechtensteiners on away goals back in the 2002/03 Uefa Cup, so Falkirk should not take this fixture lying down. FC Vaduz qualified for the Europa League on account of their victory in the Liechtenstein Cup, a competition they have won every year since 1998, and 26 times before that.

Scotland has two other representatives in the Europa Cup this season: Aberdeen are seeded for the third qualifying draw, along with IFK Gothenburg, PSV Eindhoven, AS Roma and English EPL side Fulham. Hearts will know their opponents on the 7th August. Awaiting last years third placed team are such giants of the European game as Ajax, Benfica, Lazio and last years Uefa Cup and Uefa Super Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg. Also included in the draw are two English sides, Everton and Aston Villa.

We can only hope that this years Scottish representation will last longer than last year, when all the teams where knocked out in the first round of their respective competitions. We’ll see who the Dons and the Jambos get, but baring an act of God, surely Motherwell and Falkirk will progress?

Let us know what you think!

Related posts:

1. Scots learn Euro League opponents
2. European Night: Falkirk and Motherwell look to progress
3. Can the Steelmen crush the Tinmen?
4. The week in Scottish football
5. Motherwell 0-1 Llanelli

Tags: Aberdeen, Europa League, Falkirk, Hearts, Motherwell

This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 4:23 pm and is filed under In The News, The Game. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.