Birmingham Post, UK
June 30, 2007, Saturday
1ST Edition
Derry face crippling trip to Armenia after draw
Derry director Michael Burns admits the Champions League first-round
draw is a "nightmare" for the club.
The Candystripes must travel to the other side of Europe to face
Armenian champions Pyunik, with the reward for the winner a
second-round clash against Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk.
And Burns, the club’s secretary, revealed the pairing "could not have
been worse" for City both on and off the field.
He said: "Logistically speaking it’s a nightmare. We are having to
charter a plane, we’ve got a hotel sorted and we’re still trying to
get the transportation sorted out.
"Some of our people have played in Georgia in the past. One of our
players Paddy McCourt, a Northern Ireland Under-21 international, was
in Armenia and he has already spoken about the difficulties we could
face over there.
"You are basically talking about going to the Middle East, it’s
neighbouring Iran which is as far away in Europe as you can go. It is
a nightmare, it’s going to cost us a fortune."
And if the thought of crippling costs and traumatic travel
arrangements were not enough, City also face the daunting prospect of
trying to defeat a side which boasts nine Armenian internationals.
Elsewhere, Rangers will meet the winners of the match between Zeta
and Kaunas, with the games to be played over two legs on July
31-August 1 and August 7-8.
Irish Premier League champions Linfield have been drawn against
Swedish side Elfs-borg, while Welsh Premier League winners The New
Saints will face Latvian champions Ventspils with the ties to be
played on July 17-18 and 24-25.
The winner of that tie will meet Austrian side Salzburg, while
Hungarian side Debrecen await Linfield should they progress.