Drawing opposition as formidable as Legia Warsaw was hardly the dream date Cork City had in mind in the Champions League but, while John Caulfield is not hiding from the difficulty of the challenge thrown up by yesterday’s First Round draw in Nyon – “probably got the toughest that was there” was his initial reaction yesterday – the City manager is still hoping that his side can subject the three-in-a-row Polish champions to something of a “nightmare” in the first leg at home.

Defender Conor McCarthy and midfielder Gearóid Morrissey are both out of Cork City’s Champions League first qualifying round second-leg clash with Legia Warsaw, but manager John Caulfield still has some hope that goalkeeper Mark McNulty could be fit.