CLIFTONVILLE have been pitted against Barry Town United in
the preliminary round of the Europa League Qualifying following Tuesday’s draw
at UEFA headquarters in Nyon.
The Reds will travel to Cardiff for the first leg at the
Leckwith Stadium on Thursday, June 27 before hosting the return leg at Solitude
on Thursday, July 4.
Barry Town are unable to use their ground at Jenner Park for
European football and will play at Leckwith Stadium for their home leg. The
home of Welsh Athletics is situated beside Cardiff City Stadium.
While the decisive leg of the Preliminary Round clash will
be played at Solitude on July 4, Cliftonville manager Paddy McLaughlin believes
the club’s fans will have a big role to play in both ties.
“Logistically, it’s a great draw for our fans because we
know we’ll be well backed over in Cardiff,” said McLaughlin.
“Having the second leg at home is something we hope to make
the most of and our supporters will play a big part in that.
“They got us over the line when we were on the ropes in the
play-offs and we want more of that kind of passion from them.
“I’m not just saying that to get them onside or anything. If
you were at the semi-final against Coleraine, you saw the difference they made.
“The fans dragged us out of a hole by filling the players
with belief and, home or away, I know they’ll be looking forward to getting
behind the team in more big games.”
Barry Town finished third in last season’s JD Premier
Division and are competing in Europe for the first time since their 2003
Champions League Qualifier against Vardar of Macedonia.
Cliftonville lost out to Welsh opposition back in 2011 when
The New Saints ended their interest in the Europa League.
The Reds secured their Europa League place following a
dramatic 2-0 extra-time victory over Glentoran at Solitude last month.
After a scoreless 90 minutes, extra-time goals from Joe
Gormley and Conor McMenamin sealed a second consecutive play-off win for the
Reds, along with the £200,000 prize fund.
However, the Irish League looks set to lose one of its three
Europa League places following a decision by UEFA.
The governing body has ruled that associations ranked below
50th in the coefficients table will be allocated two spots for the 2020/21
season.
The loss of the Europa League slot will require a rethink by
NIFL on how its Europa League places are won.
For now, Cliftonville’s pre-season preparations are in full
swing now that they know who they will face in their first competitive game of
the new season.
McLaughlin, who replaced Barry Gray at Solitude back in
February, feels the Europa League draw will help focus the mind’s of his
players.
“When there were six different teams in the draw, it can be
hard to properly focus because you don’t know what exactly it is you’re
preparing for,” he said.
“Now that we know it’ll be Barry Town, we can start our
homework on them and they’ll be doing the same on us.
“It’s all about working as hard as we can on and off the
pitch to make sure we’re ready for the games.
“In fairness to the players, their attitude since coming back in has been spot on but I’m sure they’ll be looking to kick on now that we know who we’re playing.”
