Irish encounters with Turkish clubs in Europe

Derry City travel to the Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium in Trabzon on Thursday to face Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor. The Karadeniz Firtinasi (Black Sea Storm) have won the Turkish league on seven occasions, the most recent victory in 1984. They have faced Irish opposition once before, overcoming Bray Wanderers in the 1991 Cup Winners’ Cup preliminary round. Bray were making their debut in European competition, as a reward for winning the previous season’s FAI Cup.

The first leg was played at Tolka Park and the match was a mere two minutes old when Djukic gave the Turkish side the lead. However, the Seagulls fought back and Martin Nugent equalised early in the second half to earn an excellent 1-1 draw. Despite being level at half time in the second leg in Turkey, Bray were unable to progress to the next stage, goals from Djukic and Aslan gave Trabzonspor a 2-0 lead and a 3-1 aggregate victory. Trabzonspor went on to beat Barcelona 1-0 in the next round, but a 7-2 defeat in the Nou Camp put an end to their dreams of lifting the trophy. That honour went to Manchester Utd who beat Barcelona 2-1 in the final in Rotterdam.

The first occasion an Irish team were paired with a Turkish side was in the 1970 European Cup. Waterford drew Galatasaray in the first round. The Blues were defeated 2-0 in Istanbul and went down 3-2 at home to go out 5-3 on aggregate. Galatasaray went on to reach the quarter final, before being eliminated by Poland’s Legia Warsaw.

1975 saw another maiden FAI Cup victory bring about a trip to Turkey. Finn Harps, having defeated St Patrick’s Athletic in the 1974 FAI Cup final drew Bursaspor in the Cup Winners’ Cup first round. Despite scoring two away goals on their European debut, Harps were unable to avoid defeat, conceding four. The Harps proved too difficult to break down in Ballybofey earning a commendable 0-0 in the return leg. Bursaspor went on to eliminate Dundee Utd in the second round, before exiting the competition at the hands of Dynamo Kiev in the quarter final.

Galatasaray resumed their battle with Irish opposition in the 1994 Champions League first round when they were paired with Cork City. Dave Barry netted for the Rebel Army as they  went down 2-1 in Istanbul. City were fantastic in the return leg in Bishopstown, but a late away goal by Swiss international Turkylimaz , silenced the 6500 attendance and sent the Turkish champions through. Gala knocked Manchester Utd out in the following round to reach the group stage but were unable to progress any further.

The most recent encounter between an Irish side and their Turkish counterparts was in the 1998 Intertoto Cup. Shamrock Rovers drew Altayspor in the first round. Despite taking the lead in Izmir, courtesy of Derek Treacy, Rovers were defeated 3-1. However goals from Richie Purdy, Tony Cousins and Paul Whelan gave Rovers a 3-1 win in the return leg and forced the tie to extra time. A second Altay goal by Brkic put the Turkish side ahead 5-4 on aggregate and that was the way it finished. Altay went on to reach the third round before being knocked out by French side Bastia.

In total Irish sides have faced Turkish opposition on ten occasions, winning one, drawing two and losing seven. It won’t be easy for the Candystripes but we can take heart from the UEFA Cup campaign of 2006, when City eliminated Swedish and Scottish opponents. Best of luck to Declan Devine and the boys!