Irish encounters with Norwegian clubs in Europe

Sligo Rovers will head to Norway in early July to take on Molde in the 2013/2014 Champions League. The first time a League Of Ireland side took on a Norwegian side in Europe’s premier competition was when Derry City representing Northern Ireland in 1966. Derry defeated Lyn Oslo 5-1 at home, overturning a 5-3 defeat in Norway, to win the tie 8-4 on aggregate and progress to the next stage.

1966 is thought of a great year for English football, but one could say the same for the League of Ireland, as of the thirty two teams remaining in that season’s European Cup, two were Drumcondra and Derry City. 

Ten years later, in the Cup Winners’ Cup, Athlone Town found success against Norwegian opposition when they defeated Valarenga 3-1 at home followed by a 1-1 draw away. A great achievement in itself, Athlone then went on to hold AC Milan to a 0-0 draw in the following round before going down 3-0 in the second leg to exit the competition.

It was not until 1997 that sides from both countries were pitted against each other again. In the Cup Winners’ Cup, Shelbourne drew SK Brann. It was hoped that Shels could keep up our excellent record against Norwegian sides in Europe, however Brann proved too strong.

They won 3-1 at Tolka Park, Stephen Geoghegan  netting Shels’ consolation. Despite an early Mark Rutherford goal in the second leg, Brann went on to win 2-1 and progress 5-2 on aggregate. Brann went on to reach the quarter-final before being knocked out by Liverpool.

Tolka Park was again the destination for a Norwegian side  when Rosenborg arrived to face Shelbourne in the 2001 Champions League. Shels had become the first Irish club in eighteen years to win an away game in Europe, beating  Sloga Jugomagnat of Macedonia 1-0 in the first qualifying round, going on to win the tie 2-1.

Hopes were high that Shels could compete with the Champions League group stage regulars, but a crowd of 10,000 were silenced by two early Rosenborg goals. Richie Foran got one back and Dessie Baker hit the bar but a last minute goal ensured Rosenborg took a two goal advantage back to Norway. An excellent performance in Trondheim resulted in a 1-1 draw, Foran again netting for Shels, but it was not enough and they exited the competition 4-2 on aggregate.

Two years later, Bohemians were paired with Rosenborg in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Bohs had knocked out BATE Borisov of Belarus 3-1 in the previous round and hopes were high they could do the same to Rosenborg. Unfortunately, the side from Trondheim were even more emphatic than the side of 2001 and defeated Bohs 5-0 on aggregate, winning 1-0 in Dalymount Park and 4-0 in Norway.

The most recent encounter between the countries’ representatives was in the second qualifying round of the 2007 UEFA Cup with  Drogheda United drawing IK Start. Start won the home leg in Kristiansand 1-0, before a late Eamon Zayed goal gave Drogheda a 1-0  win at “home” in Dalymount Park. The sides could not be separated after extra time and the match went to penalties where the Drogs suffered heartbreak losing 11-10.

Overall, the record against Norwegian club is two wins, two draws and six defeats. Yet, in this instance Sligo are in third place, having retained the majority of last season’s championship winning side, while Molde are in fifteenth place, and currently in the relegation zone in their respective league.

Molde boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has great memories of Champions league victories and hopefully Ian Baraclough and his Sligo Rovers side can provide something similar in the Showgrounds and the Aker Stadion in July and beyond.