Tough Champions League challenge awaits Cork City

There will be no marquee meeting with Celtic for Cork City in the first round of the Champions League but Ireland’s title-holders will still face tough opposition when the pairings are finalised at the draw in Switzerland this morning.

The ‘grouping’ system adopted by UEFA – a somewhat mysterious process which takes in matters of geography and politics as well as the clubs’ co-efficients and which is designed to facilitate a fair draw – has seen the Glasgow giants eliminated from the list of possible opponents for unseeded City in the first qualifying round.

Better news is that long-haul trips to the likes of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are also off the agenda but even if the logistics are generally more favourable, the footballing challenge is still formidable as John Caulfield’s men now know that they will face one from Legia Warsaw, Malmo, Rosenborg, HJK Helsinki and, the top seeds, Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria.