Conference League Thread 2023/4

[Demitri_C]

Some of the arrogance of our fans on social media syaing we should win with ease with whichever team wins

God its very arrogant and disrespectful to these sides. Did people not learn anything from stevange? Nothing is guranteed 

[John]

1 hour ago, HanoiVillan said:

It's actually pretty nice, if a bit boring and clean. But christ is it expensive. When the wife and I were in Zurich (back when Villa were in the Championship) I somehow managed to find a pub showing us playing. We had a meal, my wife had one drink and I had three pints. It was about 130 euros. 

That champagne doesn't come cheap anywhere though.... 

[Ceemo]

Just to put the draw together when yesterday everyone was focused on Aston Villa's potential opponents

UEFA Europa Conference League - Champions Path - Playoff Round
Lincoln Red Imps (Geo)/Ballkani (Kos) vs Loser of: Sheriff Tiraspol (Mda)/BATE Borisov (Bls)
Loser of: Zalgiris (Ltu)/BK Hacken (Swe) vs Ferencvaros (Hun)/Hamrun Spartans (Mlt)
Swift Hesperange (Lux)/Struga (Mkd) vs Loser of: Zrinjski (Bih)/Breidablik (Isl)
Flora (Est)/Farul Constanta (Rou) vs Loser of: Qarabag (Aze)/HJK (Fin)
Loser of: Ludogorets (Bul)/Astana (Kaz) vs Partizani (Alb)/Valmiera (Lva)

UEFA Europa Conference League - League Path - Playoff Round
Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Isr)/Levski Sofia (Bul) vs Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger)
Sepsi (Rou)/Aktobe (Kaz) vs Bodo Glimt (Nor)/Pyunik (Arm)
Midtjylland (Den)/Omonia (Cyp) vs Legia Warsaw (Pol)/Austria Vienna (Aut)
Fenerbahce (Tur)/Maribor (Svn) vs Twente (Ned)/Riga (Lva)
APOEL (Cyp)/Dila Gori (Geo) vs Gent (Bel)/Pogon Szczecin (Pol)
Tobol (Kaz)/Derry City (Irl) vs Viktoria Plzen (Cze)/Gzira United (Mlt)
Lille (Fra) vs B36 (Fro)/Rijeka (Cro)
Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr)/Aris vs Besiktas (Tur)/Neftci (Aze)
Lech Poznan (Pol)/Spartak Trnava (Svk) vs Loser of: Slavia Prague (Cze)/Dnipro-1 (Ukr)
Hibernian (Sco)/Luzern (Sui) vs Aston Villa (Eng)
Loser of: Olympiacos (Gre)/Genk (Bel) vs Osijek (Cro)/Adana Demirspor (Tur)
AZ (Ned)/FC Santa Coloma (And) vs Arouca (Por)/Brann (Nor)
Rapid Vienna (Aut)/Debrecen (Hun) vs Fiorentina (Ita)
Rosenborg (Nor)/Hearts (Sco) vs PAOK (Gre)/Hajduk (Cro)
FCSB (Rou)/Nordsjaelland (Den) vs Partizan (Srb)/Sabah (Aze)
Osasuna (Esp) vs Club Brugge (Bel)/KA (Isl)
Maccabi Tel Aviv (Isr)/AEK Larnaca (Cyp) vs Celje (Svn)/Neman Grodno (Bls)

So there are actually some good sides going to be knocked out at the playoff round. Potentially you could have Fenerbahce vs Twente, Dynamo Kyiv vs Besiktas and Osasuna vs Club Brugge which are corkers at this stage of the competition. Eintracht Frankfurt could have got a much easier tie than possibly Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Also Fiorentina could get the Rapid Vienna banana skin and I wonder will they have the same issues that we had.

[Ceemo]

Fixtures this week :

Tuesday 8th August 2023
UEFA Europa League - Third Qualifying Round, First Leg (Loser enters Conference League)
Astana (Aze) vs Ludogorets (Bul) - 15:00

Wednesday 9th August 2023
UEFA Europa Conference League - Main Path - Third Qualifying Round, First Leg
AEK Larnaca (Cyp) vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Isr) - 18:00
Genk (Bel) vs Pogon Szczecin (Pol) - 19:00

Thursday 10th August 2023
UEFA Europa League - Third Qualifying Round, First Leg (Losers enter Conference League)
Zalgiris (Ltu) vs BK Hacken (Swe) - 17:00
Qarabag (Aze) vs HJK (Fin) - 17:00
Sheriff Tiraspol (Mda) vs BATE Borisov - 18:00
Slavia Prague (Cze) vs Dnipro-1 (Ukr) - 18:00
Zrinjski (Bih) vs Breidablik (Isl) - 20:00
Olympiakos (Gre) vs Genk (Bel) - 20:00
UEFA Europa Conference League - Champions Path - Third Qualifying Round, First Leg
Struga (Mkd) vs Swift Hesperange (Lux) - 16:00
Valmiera (Lva) vs Partizani (Alb) - 18:00
Farul Constanta (Rou) vs Flora (Est) - 18:30
Hamrun Spartans (Mlt) vs Ferencvaros (Hun) - 19:00
Ballkani (Kos) vs LIncoln Red Imps (Gib) - 19:45
UEFA Europa Conference League - Main Path - Third Qualifying Round, First Leg
Tobol (Kaz) vs Derry City (Irl) - 15:00
Bodo/Glimt (Nor) vs Pyunik (Arm) - 17:00
Sabah (Aze) vs Partizan (Srb) - 17:00
Dila Gori (Geo) vs APOEL - 18:00
FC Santa Coloma (And) vs AZ (Ned) - 18:00
Legia Warsaw (Pol) vs Austria Vienna (Aut) - 18:00
Neftci (Aze) vs Besiktas (Tur) - 18:00
Omonia (Cyp) vs Midtjylland (Den) - 18:00
Rosenborg (Nor) vs Hearts (Sco) - 18:00
Sepsi (Rou) vs Aktobe (Kaz) - 18:00
Viktoria Plzen (Cze) vs Gzira Utd (Mlt) - 18:00
Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Isr) vs Levski (Bul) - 18:30
Adana Demirspor (Tur) vs Osijek - 19:00
Arouca (Por) vs Brann (Nor) - 19:00
B36 (Fro) vs Rijeka (Cro) - 19:00
Celje (Svn) vs Neman Grodno (Bls) - 19:00
Club Brugge (Bel) vs KA (Isl) - 19:00
Fenerbahce (Tur) vs Maribor (Svn) - 19:00
Lech Poznan (Pol) vs Spartak Trnava (Svk) - 19:00
Twente (Ned) vs Riga (Lva) - 19:00
Aris (Gre) vs Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr) - 19:15
FCSB (Rou) vs Nordsjaelland (Den) - 19:30
Hibernian (Sco) vs Luzern (Sui) - 19:30
Hajduk Split (Cro) vs PAOK (Gre) - 20:00
Rapid Vienna (Aut) vs Debrecen (Hun) - 20:00

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, LxYoungAVFC said:

Avoid shops/restaurants around airports, train stations, ski resorts and other touristy areas and it's much cheaper than people expect.

That's true in so many places. I remember in Prague, the bars and restaurants around Old Town Square were exorbitant. Walk a few hundred metres away and the prices halved. 

[Zatman]

54 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Some of the arrogance of our fans on social media syaing we should win with ease with whichever team wins

God its very arrogant and disrespectful to these sides. Did people not learn anything from stevange? Nothing is guranteed 

Well we should win. If we got knocked out by either of these teams it would be on the Bradford scale of embarrassment considering our staff

I doubt you would find a bigger upset in Europe all season

[Zatman]

AEK Athens vs Dinamo Zagreb Champions League tonight is postponed as a fan was stabbed to death in Athens

AEK is the host stadium for the final

[Demitri_C]

Hibs game confirmed on bbc

[Demitri_C]

7 minutes ago, Zatman said:

AEK Athens vs Dinamo Zagreb Champions League tonight is postponed as a fan was stabbed to death in Athens

AEK is the host stadium for the final

Not like there hasnt been fan trouble at Wembley before hosting a final 

[icouldtelltheworld]

5 hours ago, Zatman said:

AEK Athens vs Dinamo Zagreb Champions League tonight is postponed as a fan was stabbed to death in Athens

AEK is the host stadium for the final

Hearing that Dinamo Zagreb and Panathanaikos ultras grouped up to attack AEK fans

[Zatman]

12 minutes ago, icouldtelltheworld said:

Hearing that Dinamo Zagreb and Panathanaikos ultras grouped up to attack AEK fans

Absolute scummy either way. Its only a game FFS

Its a bit if a warning for our fans to be careful for away games

[newhavenhibby]

As much as I would love to see Hibs play Villa, especially at Villa Park, ( would be my first visit back there in 20 years) I very much doubt it is going to happen. If we are still in the tie after Thursday I will be very much surprised. 

We have 3 main problems ...............apart from playing in the SPL 

1. Goalkeeper.....our first choice is David Marshall who is not 100% fit and is no spring chicken and lately has been prone to goal giving mistakes. Our number 2 keeper was injured last week in the second leg against the Andorran side and will be out for a while. Apart from them we just have inexperienced development keepers.

2. Our defence has 2 players ( Hanlon and Stevenson) who although have been great servants to the club should have been replaced 3 to 4 years ago. it can also be argued that they have only stayed at the club so long as they weren't ever good enough to play at a higher level!  Add into the equation that at present our "wise" manager, R2D2, plays a young development player at right back who in actual fact is a midfielder whilst having an Australian specialist right back twiddling his thumbs on the bench. 

3. Our midfield is very poor with very little creativity. Usually what happens is that long diagonal balls are played up to a striker which Mings will deal with all day long. If you press them then mistakes and stray passes will happen.

I'm sure Lucerne would have had a scout at Easter Road last Sunday for our loss to St Mirren and will have come to the same conclusions.

Our attack has a couple of fairly quick players in Youan and Boyle ( not 100% fit as just recovering from an ACL op ) but its whether they will actually see much of the ball. Then we have Doidge and LeFondre who won't have the pace to bother a Premier League back four.

 

Obviously if a small miracle does happen I will post some info for supporters coming up for the game. Easter Road holds just over 20,000 so Villa fans should get at least 1000 based on the UEFA 5% rule.

Good luck to Villa whoever they end up playing and will be good to see them back in Europe again. ( my last Euro game with Villa was a certain night in Rotterdam in 1982 )

GGTTH

Edited August 9, 2023 by newhavenhibby

[Zatman]

7 minutes ago, newhavenhibby said:

As much as I would love to see Hibs play Villa, especially at Villa Park, ( would be my first visit back there in 20 years) I very much doubt it is going to happen. If we are still in the tie after Thursday I will be very much surprised. 

We have 3 main problems ...............

1. Goalkeeper.....our first choice is David Marshall who is not 100% fit and is no spring chicken and lately has been prone to goal giving mistakes. Our number 2 keeper was injured last week in the second leg against the Andorran side and will be out for a while. Apart from them we just have inexperienced development keepers.

2. Our defence has 2 players ( Hanlon and Stevenson) who although have been great servants to the club should have been replaced 3 to 4 years ago. it can also be argued that they have only stayed at the club so long as they weren't ever good enough to play at a higher level!  Add into the equation that at present our "wise" manager, R2D2, plays a young development player at right back who in actual fact is a midfielder whilst having an Australian specialist right back twiddling his thumbs on the bench. 

3. Our midfield is very poor with very little creativity. Usually what happens is that long diagonal balls are played up to a striker which Mings will deal with all day long. If you press them then mistakes and stray passes will happen.

I'm sure Lucerne would have had a scout at Easter Road last Sunday for our loss to St Mirren and will have come to the same conclusions.

Our attack has a couple of fairly quick players in Youan and Boyle ( not 100% fit as just recovering from an ACL op ) but its whether they will actually see much of the ball. Then we have Doidge and LeFondre who won't have the pace to bother an Premier League back four.

 

Obviously if a small miracle does happen I will post some info for supporters coming up for the game. Easter Road holds just over 20,000 so Villa fans should get at least 1000 based on the UEFA 5% rule.

Good luck to Villa whoever they end up playing and will good to see them back in Europe again. ( my last Euro game with Villa was a certain night in Rotterdam in 1982 )

GGTTH

Fair and honest opinion and I have been maybe too honest borderline harsh on Hibs but do hope get through.

Surprised about Boyle though I thought he moved to UAE or similar before the World Cup

[newhavenhibby]

He did move to the UAE for 6 months but returned to us last season before his second cruciate ligament op..................he did this playing in pre world cup games for Australia so missed the tournament.

 

Forgot to put that the last time Hibs played an English Club in Europe was as long ago as the 1975 Season when they played Liverpool in the UEFA Cup. Hibs won 1 . 0 at Easter Road plus missed a penalty late on. This turned out to be crucial as Liverpool won 3 . 1 at Anfield and Hibs would have won on the away goal rule in those days.

How times and money have changed the game, especially in England as Hibs wouldn't be able to lay a glove on Liverpool now, or any other top English side for that matter.

Edited August 9, 2023 by newhavenhibby

[Demitri_C]

Ooooh one benefit we dont join carabao until 3rd round due to europe

Edited August 8, 2023 by Demitri_C

[Hornso]

3 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Ooooh one benefit we dont join carabao until 3rd round due to europe

We'll still draw United away 

[markc]

On 08/08/2023 at 14:00, Demitri_C said:

Hibs game confirmed on bbc

Yes, BBC Scotland or the iPlayer

https://www.live-footballontv.com/

[ferguson1]

On 08/08/2023 at 20:06, newhavenhibby said:

As much as I would love to see Hibs play Villa, especially at Villa Park, ( would be my first visit back there in 20 years) I very much doubt it is going to happen. If we are still in the tie after Thursday I will be very much surprised. 

We have 3 main problems ...............apart from playing in the SPL 

1. Goalkeeper.....our first choice is David Marshall who is not 100% fit and is no spring chicken and lately has been prone to goal giving mistakes. Our number 2 keeper was injured last week in the second leg against the Andorran side and will be out for a while. Apart from them we just have inexperienced development keepers.

2. Our defence has 2 players ( Hanlon and Stevenson) who although have been great servants to the club should have been replaced 3 to 4 years ago. it can also be argued that they have only stayed at the club so long as they weren't ever good enough to play at a higher level!  Add into the equation that at present our "wise" manager, R2D2, plays a young development player at right back who in actual fact is a midfielder whilst having an Australian specialist right back twiddling his thumbs on the bench. 

3. Our midfield is very poor with very little creativity. Usually what happens is that long diagonal balls are played up to a striker which Mings will deal with all day long. If you press them then mistakes and stray passes will happen.

I'm sure Lucerne would have had a scout at Easter Road last Sunday for our loss to St Mirren and will have come to the same conclusions.

Our attack has a couple of fairly quick players in Youan and Boyle ( not 100% fit as just recovering from an ACL op ) but its whether they will actually see much of the ball. Then we have Doidge and LeFondre who won't have the pace to bother a Premier League back four.

 

Obviously if a small miracle does happen I will post some info for supporters coming up for the game. Easter Road holds just over 20,000 so Villa fans should get at least 1000 based on the UEFA 5% rule.

Good luck to Villa whoever they end up playing and will be good to see them back in Europe again. ( my last Euro game with Villa was a certain night in Rotterdam in 1982 )

GGTTH

Good to hear from a Hibs perspective.

As an aside, I only heard today about Harry McKirdy having heart surgery! Wishing him a full and speedy recovery, and be good to hear of him playing for you guys again soon

[newhavenhibby]

10 hours ago, ferguson1 said:

Good to hear from a Hibs perspective.

As an aside, I only heard today about Harry McKirdy having heart surgery! Wishing him a full and speedy recovery, and be good to hear of him playing for you guys again soon

Unfortunately there are quite a few Hibs fans who would never want him to play for Hibs again!

I quite like him myself and thought he just needed a goal to kick start his career at Easter Road. He came so close at Aberdeen save for a handball on the line...........he then didn't take the penalty so was robbed of his first goal for the club. ( We missed the penalty )

Edited August 10, 2023 by newhavenhibby

[ferguson1]

2 minutes ago, newhavenhibby said:

Unfortunately there are quite a few Hibs fans who would never want him to play for Hibs again!

I quite like him myself and thought he just needed a goal to kick start his career at Easter Road.

I hadn’t realised he wasn’t popular. Has he acted like a word removed during his time with you?