Champions League qualifying: The New Saints have mountain to climb after defeat in Gothenburg
The New Saints' hopes of progressing in the Champions League were dealt a blow after a 3-1 defeat to BK Hacken in Gothenburg; Northern Ireland's Larne made the worst possible start to their debut in the Champions League after losing 1-0 to HJK Helsinki
Thursday 13 July 2023 08:07, UK
The New Saints' hopes of progressing in the Champions League were dealt a blow after a 3-1 defeat to BK Hacken in Gothenburg.
They were 2-0 down inside the opening 13 minutes of their first qualifying round first leg courtesy of goals from Ibrahim Sadiq and Mikkel Rygaard.
The Welsh Premier League champions got themselves back into the game with Declan McManus powering home a 32nd-minute header from Jordan Williams' cross.
However, within five minutes, Even Hovland re-established the hosts' two-goal cushion after a long VAR check.
- Shamrock Rovers left with work to do after first-leg defeat in Iceland
- Champions League fixtures | Results
- Get Sky Sports | Download the Sky Sports App
Northern Irish side Larne lose to HJK Helsinki on CL debut
Northern Ireland's Larne made the worst possible start to their debut in the Champions League after losing 1-0 to HJK Helsinki having conceded in only the third minute.
The Irish Premiership champions have work to do in the home leg of their first qualifying round tie after Cian Bolger conceded an early penalty with a foul on Topi Keskinen which allowed Bojan Radulovic to score from the spot.
Larne, who failed to have a shot on target in 90 minutes, face a difficult task against a Finnish side who reached the group stages of last season's Europa League.
Wednesday's other Champions League first qualifying round ties...
- Astana 1-1 Dynamo Tbilisi
- FCV Farul Constanta1-0 Sheriff Tiraspol
Tuesday's Champions League first qualifying round ties...
- Shamrock Rovers 0-1 Breidablik
- Banants Yerevan 0-1 Zrinjski Mostar
- Lincoln Red Imps1-2 Qarabag FK
- VMFD Zalgiris 0-0 FC Struga
- Hamrun Spartans 0-4 Maccabi Haifa
- Olimpija Ljubljana 2-1 Valmiera
- Raków Czestochowa 1-0 FC Flora Tallinn
- Ballkani 2-0 Ludogorets
- KI Klaksvík 0-0 Ferencvaros
- Partizani Tirane1-1 BATE Borisov
ECL qualifying: Doyle gives St Patrick's late hope against Dudelange
Substitute Mark Doyle scored a 93rd-minute goal to give St Patrick's a lifeline in their Europa Conference League first-round qualifier after losing the first leg 2-1 to Luxembourg's Dudelange.
The 24-year-old had only been on the pitch for just over 10 minutes when he struck his first European goal after Tommy Lonergan's rebounded shot fell to him in added time to give the Ireland Premier Division side hope heading into next week's home tie.
Manager Jon Daly had said he felt under-prepared going into the game as there was so little footage of the 16-time domestic champions they had to watch videos from last year, which he suggested put them at a disadvantage to their opponents.
Whether that played a part or not St Pat's, currently second in the Irish Premier Division, went behind in the 24th minute when Oege-Sietse Van Lingen converted a low strike from just inside the penalty area.
Van Lingen was denied a second by a good save from Dean Lyness, who then saved well from Samir Hadji on the hour but his goal was breached again seconds later when Yahcuroo Roemer doubled the hosts' lead on the counter-attack.
What are the key dates for the 2023/24 season?
The Premier League season will kick off on the weekend of August 11-13 and conclude nine months later on May 19 2024.
A mid-season player break will take place between January 14-20 and, in order to address the congested schedule across Christmas and New Year, no two rounds in this period will take place within 48 hours of each other.
Meanwhile, the Carabao Cup final will take place on Sunday February 25, the Europa League final will be held in Dublin on May 22 and the Champions League final will be played at Wembley Stadium on June 1.
