Will Irish League clubs make more European history?Image source, Pacemaker PressImage caption, Northern Ireland were awarded four European spots for this seasonByJana McCabeBBC Sport NI journalistPublished32 minutes agoEuropean football has become a stage where Irish Premiership clubs can dream bigger than ever. This year Larne, Coleraine, Linfield and Glentoran will represent the Irish Premiership as they bid to reach the league phase in Europe. Just one Irish League team, the Inver Reds, has ever progressed into the league stages of a European competition when they qualified for the Uefa Conference League in 2024. Will any of this year’s quartet add another chapter to the history book? BBC Sport NI takes a look at the matches ahead. Larne Image source, InphoImage caption, Larne were heavily beaten by Shamrock Rovers when they made the group stages of the Conference LeagueAfter winning their third league title in four years, Larne kick-start their European campaign with a trip to San Marino to face Tre Fiori in the first round of the Champions League qualifying matches on 7 July, before the home game the following week.The San Marino Champions, who won the Campionato Sammarinese by one point last campaign, have had a busy off season with 11 players leaving the club and eight new signings. Larne will take confidence that, in 2020, Linfield faced Tre Fiori with the Blues progressing to the next round of Champions League qualifiers with a 2-0 win in Nyon. The Inver Reds have now competed in Europe for the last six years and, two seasons ago, made history by beating Lincoln Red Imps to qualify into the Conference League.”The players want to get back there and experience it again, as the six individual games are a fantastic experience,” Gary Haveron stated.”When you are in the knockout stages, the next game could be your last one and there is a lot at stake but, once you make group stages, you could plan your schedule around the individual games. Every single one of the games was a huge event and a big moment in the club’s history. “Every time you step foot on the pitch in Europe, you are trying to create history for the club and the country and I think Larne have done that really well.”If they lose this tie, Larne’s European adventure will not be over as they will drop into the third round of the Uefa Conference League.Coleraine Image source, Press EyeImage caption, Coleraine beat Dungannon Swifts in a thrilling Irish Cup final in MayColeraine secured European football for the first time since 2018 after finishing second in the league and winning the Irish Cup.Ruaidhri Higgins has stated his side “are going into the season in a much better position than we were last year.”New signings Conor McMenamin and Jay Henderson have experience at international level, while the returning Ben Doherty is no stranger to European nights. They will face Finnish side HJK Helsinki in the second qualifying round of the Uefa Conference League on 23 and 30 July.HJK Helsinki sit fifth in the Veikkausliiga after 14 games and have scored the second highest number of goals this season. “We are certainly going to go into it as underdogs. They are a big name in Finnish football and have big-name players,” Higgins continued.”They are halfway through their season, but we have good preparation time. As much as they will be right in the thick of it and match ready, the ideal scenario is to keep the tie alive coming back [to Coleraine].”The targets we set ourselves, we don’t have to be told. We are in our first year in European football for a while so it is very much new ground, but we will treat it with the respect it deserves.” Linfield Image source, InphoImage caption, Linfield were knocked out of Europe after a penalty shootout in 2022No Linfield fan will need reminded of the heartbreak they felt in 2022 against RFS when it looked like the Belfast side were going to become the first team from the Irish Premiership to make the group stages of a European competition.However, they missed out on a Conference League spot after a late own goal by Jimmy Callacher sent the game to penalties with the Latvian outfit, who won on spot kicks.Linfield, who qualified for Europe through the end-of-season play-offs, have created plenty of history during David Healy’s tenure but have often struggled in European qualifiers.This year, Nomme Kalju FC of Estonia await the Blues in the first qualifying round of Conference League.The Estonian side are also mid-season and sit third, 12 points behind leaders Levadia and will welcome Healy’s side on 9 July before the second leg at Windsor Park a week later. They have been going through a tough spell and have won just one of their past six games.It was a challenging campaign for David Healy’s side last year and they were knocked out of the Conference League by Premier Division outfit Shelbourne, who they had earlier met in Champions League qualifiers.If Linfield were to beat Nomme Kalju over two legs, another rematch with Shels awaits, who would have home advantage for the first match.
