Europa win would be best – Bala boss
BALA Town boss Colin Caton says progression in the UEFA Europa League would be his biggest achievement at the club.
The Lakesiders embark on their fifth European adventure this evening against SP Tre Fiori of San Marino (7.45pm) in the preliminary round first leg tie, which is being played in Forli in Italy.
They are looking to progress for the first time having lost all four previous two-legged encounters.
Bala have gone out against Levadia Tallinn (2013), Differdange (2015) and AIK (2016), while last year they went down 5-1 on aggregate against FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein.
Caton has enjoyed a successful managerial career since taking the reins at Maes Tegid in 2003.
He has taken the club from the Wrexham Alliance to the JD Welsh Premier League and also guided the club to a first Welsh Cup triumph in 2017.
But advancing in Europe would come out on top for the former defender.
He said: “I think if we make the kind of progress we want to make in Europe it would be our biggest achievement during my time at the club, perhaps topping the JD Welsh Cup final win against The New Saints.
“It has frustrated me over the years, and angered me a little bit, that we haven’t progressed as much as we’d have liked.
“I’m really hoping that this time will be different.”
The second leg will be played at Rhyl next Thursday with the winners going on to face Slovenian outfit NK Rudar Velenje in the first qualifying round.
Also in action tonight are Cefn Druids, who take on Lithuanian side FK Trakai at Park Hall, the home of Welsh champions The New Saints (7pm).
It will be only the Ancients’ second experience of European competition and six years after they were beaten 5-0 on aggregate by Finnish side MYPA.
The Druids earned their spot after beating Cardiff Met in the JD Welsh Premier League play-off final, while Trakai enjoyed a run to the third qualifying round last year that also saw them eliminate Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone.
Victory for Druids would then see them go on to face FC Irtysh Pavlodar of Kazakhstan in the next round.