European Exploits

COLERAINE return to the European scene as they welcome La Fiorita to The Showgrounds as a spot in the first qualifying round of the Europa League is up for grabs (KO 7:30pm)…

Europa League Preliminary Round

Overview:

Coleraine and La Fiorita know that a win in tonight’s Europa League Preliminary Round tie will set up a fixture against Maribor next Thursday evening.

The visitors finished fourth in last season’s Sammarinese top flight and are five times champions of their division. They are managed by Nicola Berardi who recently returned to the club.

Recent European fixtures:

This will be the third time in the last four seasons that the Bannsiders have participated in the Europa League. However, despite playing exactly 40 matches in Europe, this will be first against Sammarinese opposition.

La Fiorita are no strangers to Northern Irish opposition. In 2017 they were drawn against Linfield in the first qualifying round of the Champions League losing just 1-0 on aggregate over the two legs. This season marks the ninth straight year that they will feature in European competition.

Manager’s Thoughts:

“There is an opportunity for a mouth-watering trip to Slovenia and I’ve said to the players that has to be the target,” said Kearney.

“We’ve got bits and pieces of information. They are a part-time league and, like ourselves, they stopped playing in March.

“Up to date and relevant footage is hard to get. The best indicator we have is from when they played Linfield in 2017.

“The same manager from then has just been appointed again, and you would maybe expect the tactics to be quite similar.

“Stephen Lowry played in that game too and has given good insight. Looking at their league table, they don’t seem to score many but they don’t concede many either.”

Admission:

Supporters are not permitted inside the stadium due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, the fixture will be shown live on BBC Sport NI website.

As ever, those unable to watch the fixture can follow the latest developments via the club’s official Twitter account (@ColeraineFC).