Winner of Shelbourne-Linfield tie to face Qarabag next in Champions League
It will be a tough ask for the first round winner against a side regularly featuring in the outright Europa or Conference League.
The first leg will be played on 22 or 23 July, with the Irish side at home, followed by leg two on 29 or 30 July.
Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic will be part of the Conference League second round draw at 1pm.
The Hoops enter the competition at this stage after being upgraded following Drogheda's expulsion.
With a high ranking, the draw is likely to be favourable for the Hoops.
Cliftonville FC are among their possible opponents, with the entire list of
Winner of La Fiorita 1967 (San Marino) vs FC Vardar (North Macedonia)
NK Varaždin (Croatia)
Winner of Floriana FC (Malta) vs Haverfordwest County AFC (Wales)
Winner of St Joseph's FC (GIB) vs Cliftonville
FC UNA Strassen (Luxembourg)
The Saints will play FC Hegelmann of Lithuania in the first round.
Sparta Prague, Royal Charleroi SC from Belgium, Latvia's Riga FC, Silkeborg IF of Denmark and the winner of Nõmme Kalju FC (Estonia) vs FK Partizani (Albania) are their possible opponents in round two.
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The Irish Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng brushes off pressure of history ahead of Tipperary SHC semi-final showdown
DEREK LYNG insists Kilkenny's 10-year famine has nothing to do with the current crop. Advertisement 2 Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng is not thinking about the Cats All-Ireland drought 2 Former Kilkenny manager Brian Cody celebrates with Derek Lyng and Michael Dempsey, following their side's victory in the 2015 All-Ireland final against Galway TJ Reid, Richie Reid and stopper Eoin Murphy are the only survivors from their last title when Lyng was a selector under Brian Cody. But their boss says there is no 10-year cloud over the dressing room ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against He said: 'None whatsoever, none whatsoever. That's not on this group. That's sport. Anytime you get through and win something you have to earn it. That's what we've been trying to do. 'What I'm looking for from the team is a really good attitude and application in terms of how they go about the games. I've been really pleased with how we've done that so far. Advertisement read more on gaa 'We think we have a bit to go yet and we know we need to up it again this weekend. That's all we're looking for.' Sunday's clash is one of hurling's great rivalries, and Lyng grew up in Urlingford where that edge was felt the most. The border with Tipperary was only a couple of kilometres away, so he was no stranger to what these games meant as a child. He sat in the Hogan stand when Tipp prevailed in the 1991 All-Ireland before facing his neighbours in four championship games as a player, winning three and losing one. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling Lyng prevailed in back to back semi-finals in 2003, as well as the 2009 All-Ireland final before Liam Sheedy's men halted their drive for five a year later. Sunday's clash will be their first championship showdown since Tipp won the 2019 All-Ireland, and blew the Cats away 3-25 to 0-20. 'Lots of fight' - RTE GAA pundits react to Sean O'Shea's 'very interesting' interview after Kerry dethrone Armagh After romping to their sixth Leinster title in a row against Galway last month, game seven awaits in their quest for glory. Kilkenny's manager will block out the rivalry as much as he can, but it will never go away. Advertisement He said: 'I think it's a healthy rivalry, and I get it. I think when Kilkenny and Tipp meet, there'll be a lot of talk this week in media – and that's fine and it adds to the whole story of it and it builds up the game and everything else. 'The fact that we're playing Tipperary adds to it, if anything. Nothing else comes into play. This team are after performing really well all year. 'Any game you play against Tipperary that I've been involved in is always a tough game. I think there's a lot of respect there between both counties, always has been. 'There have been massive games with Tipperary right the way through. Some we got out on top of, some we didn't. Advertisement 'But at the same time, when we go to play each other, we're both competitive and we want to win and perform. "That's what makes it special, then you get the games that we've got in the past. But like I said, for ourselves, it's just about focusing on our performance now. 'We know what the challenge is, we have to take it to another level now. That's what's in front of us, so that's where the focus is going. 'But for us, it's the next game. It's about performing and you can't get caught up too much in the emotion of it all. For us, an All-Ireland semi-final is a huge event in itself.' Advertisement KILKENNY DEMONS And Kilkenny have their semi-final demons to banish too. The Cats held a commanding 1-11 to 0-8 lead against Clare in the last four a year ago. But a whopping second half surge from Kilkenny's failure to kill them off dominated the post-mortems. But Lyng insists the best team won, and hopes his players have learned their lesson. He said: 'I don't think we threw it away, I think the best team won on the day. I don't think we earned it. This is a different year, a different game. Advertisement 'Obviously, you try and learn from that game and you bring that into the start of the year. We definitely didn't throw it away. 'We were obviously in a strong position at half-time and that's been well documented. We didn't do enough in the second half, simple as that. The better team won. 'We know we're going to have to perform for over 75 minutes in this game to win an All-Ireland semi-final. You have to. Games ebb and flow. 'You're not going to have it your way all the time. It's about digging out that. The other team gets on top for a while and seeing that through and taking advantage when you're on top. Advertisement 'And that's really the game, being efficient when you get those chances. Anytime you're in an All-Ireland semi-final it's a huge opportunity. You're one game away from being in the final. 'We're playing Tipperary so straight away it's not exactly a team that hasn't been used to playing in All-Ireland finals or used to success. The opportunity is always there. 'It doesn't matter who you're playing. Like I said before, Tipperary brings an added excitement to the whole thing. For us the focus doesn't change, really.'
The Irish Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Kate O'Connor targets Irish heptathlon record while balancing media spotlight and Masters dissertation
KATE O'CONNOR'S Masters dissertation is on how to boost audiences for major championships. When it comes to Ireland at least, she may well be the answer as well as the one posing the question. Advertisement 2 Irish pentathlete Kate O'Connor is gearing up for the world outdoors 2 The Irish pentathlete Kate O'Connor with her 2025 European Indoors Pentathlon Bronze and 2025 World Indoors Pentathlon Silver medals With a Now she is gearing up to do likewise outdoors in heptathlon and almost casually mentions she expects to break her own national record of 6,297 points at the World University Games in Germany this month. O'Connor - speaking from her training camp in Portugal - said: 'At the start of the year, I gave myself a couple of goals. 'And I broke them multiple times during indoors, but my obvious goal at World University's is to break the national record. Advertisement READ MORE ON SPORT 'If I finish, that should definitely happen. I'm not really putting a limit on the score I could do, just go out and have a bit of fun, see where I am. 'My first barrier is to break 6500, I'd like to do that at World University Games and then build on it. 'I think I will put together a pretty big score, but I obviously have to go out and do it.' It will be her last such championship with her dissertation for her post-grad course in Communications and Public Relations due in September. Advertisement Most read in Athletics she said: 'It 's actually an athletics based dissertation. I'm looking at visibility of the world champs in 2023 and how to kind of boost the audience for other championships in the future. 'It's been very interesting, looking at it from a different perspective but I can't wait to get it done to be honest. I've it about half done.' Inside Wimbledon star's home for tournament with gym and wine cellar as she reveals bizarre way she unwinds Her exploits, along with others such as Rhasidat Adeleke, Sarah Healy and Mark English, have gone some way to raising the profile of track and field here. And she admitted she was underprepared for the fallout for her two podium finishes earlier in the year. Advertisement She said: 'I was probably very naive. I took like three weeks off after World Indoors - 'I'll just deal with all the media stuff then, I'll get all that stuff out of the way and then I'll just go back into training'. 'And it hasn't really been like that. It's kind of like now every week there's something where people are kind of wanting me to do different things. 'So it's been busy and I've had to change things around a little bit and trying to work out when to say yes to stuff and no to other stuff.' In the absence of an agent, her father, and coach, Michael has assumed additional responsibilities to deal with the extra demands on her time. Advertisement But the impact of her achievements has largely been positive, attracting increased sponsorship to deal with the significant outlay that comes with being a multi-disciplinary athlete. BIG DEAL She recently signed a contract with Adidas and the plan is to be a full-time athlete for at least a few years, although she is honest enough to admit that her studies were in a distant second place of late. After the World University Games, she plans to compete in some individual events, including at the National Championships in a month's time as she gears up for the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Javelin is earmarked for improvement, with her personal best dating back to 2025. And world silver medalist Anna Hall's 800m time of 2:01.23 - a heptathlon world record - as part of a PB of 7032 in Austria last month served as a reminder of how standards are rising. Advertisement She said: 'Her performance was amazing to watch. I think what she's done in the 800m has changed everyone's perspective on what multi-eventers should be running. 'It used to be that if you were running a sub 2:10, you were a great 800m runner. Now it's going to shift towards having to run 2:05 to be at the races. 'I think that it'll take another couple of years to be challenging for the top spot. And that's ultimately my goal.' O'Connor was speaking as it was announced was extending its partnership with Athletics Ireland to 2030 in a multi-annual six figure deal. Advertisement
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'The fact we're playing Tipperary adds to it' Kilkenny boss on a classic rivalry
The Kilkenny-Tipperary rivalry was one that Derek Lyng grew up hearing about rather than really experiencing. Coming from Urlingford, just a couple of kilometres from the border with Tipp, the neighbours were in the midst of a lengthy struggle to break out of Munster when Lyng was born and, with no back door system at the time, they went 20 years without meeting in the Championship. That run was broken in 1991, when they paired off in the All-Ireland final and a 13-year-old Lyng watched from the Hogan Stand as Tipp scored a four-point win. 'They would have played in League matches around that time,' recalls the Kilkenny boss. 'I remember there was always a good crowd that would turn up for Kilkenny-Tipperary. They never got to meet in the Championship around those years. 'I really enjoyed going to those games and obviously, 1991 was not the result Kilkenny were looking for but it was still a match I would have looked over and over. I would have idolised a lot of those players that would have played for Kilkenny in '91. 'They went on and won in '92 and '93 but didn't get to play for Tipperary again until 2002 so there was a big gap there. 'I suppose when you're growing up on the border, you have people from Tipperary and Kilkenny mixing, be it in school or even on your club team. It was always a little bit more important but it was good though. Really enjoyable. I think it adds to it.' That 2002 game that Lyng referenced was an All-Ireland semi-final in what was his breakout season as a Kilkenny player. They scored a four-point win, their first over them in the Championship for 35 years, en route to the title. 'There was a massive build-up. Tipperary were All-Ireland champions at the time as well in '02. We had a new-ish team at the time so it was an exciting time to be part of that team. Playing Tipperary in a packed Croke Park Park. It was a fantastic experience.' After just three Championship meetings between 1971 and 2009, there were nine from 2009-19, along with four League final clashes in that period. The 2009 All-Ireland final is, for many, the greatest game ever played, but there were any number of classics in that era, several of them regulation League games in the spring. At a time when short puckouts, sweepers and all kinds of tactical innovations were taking hold in hurling, Kilkenny-Tipp remained true to the game's man-on-man traditions. 'It was a little bit simpler, maybe it was,' Lyng admits. 'But I think every year something was always added to it and you can see that, even from a puckout situation over the years. Teams were even back then doing a lot of work. That's something you always had to prepare for. 'Maybe it was a little bit more simpler in terms of it was man-on-man, and particularly how Kilkenny and Tipp go about it, that was generally always the way. 'But at the same time, the fundamentals were always there. It's about winning your own ball; it was about using the ball well and being efficient when you have it. That hasn't changed. 'So certainly from a tactical point of view, there's probably a lot more that you need to take into account now than you did 15, 20 years ago.' With Tipp's inability to break out of Munster in recent years, much like during Lyng's childhood, Sunday's semi-final is their first Championship meeting in six years and Tipperary won the last two, the finals of 2016 and '19 finals, decisively. Eddie Brennan reckons that, on that basis, Kilkenny owe Tipp one, though Lyng doesn't tally with his former teammate on that. 'No. And I get it. I think when Kilkenny and Tipp meet, there'll be a lot of talk this week in media – and that's fine and it adds to the whole story of it and it builds up the game and everything else. 'But for us, it's the next game. It's about performing and you can't get caught up too much in the emotion of it all. For us, an All-Ireland semi-final is a huge event in itself. 'The fact that we're playing Tipperary adds to it, if anything. Nothing else comes into play. 'This team are after performing really well all year. We know what the challenge is, we have to take it to another level now. That's what's in front of us, so that's where the focus is going.'
