So exactly who are Karpaty Lviv?
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
St. Pats play the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round against Karpaty Lviv on Thursday in the Ukraine, but who are Karpaty Lviv anyway?
Karpaty Lviv come from the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine. Lviv has a population of 760,000- meaning it is the seventh-largest city in Ukraine. The name 'Karpaty' comes from the nearby Carpathian Mountains (called Karpaty in Ukrainian). The club was founded in 1963 by workers from a local agricultural factory. After just five years in existence Karpaty were promoted to the Soviet First League (second tier). A year later they became the only club to win the Soviet Cup while still in the First League.
That cup win was their only silverware in the Soviet league system and after independence they have failed to add to it in the Ukrainian league. The Green-Whites have been runners up in the Ukrainian Cup twice and were also runners-up in the Ukrainian First League (second tier) in 2005. Karpaty play in the 29,000-seater Ukraina stadium, which also occasionally hosts the Ukrainian national team.
Karpaty earned the right to play St. Pats due to a fifth-placed finish in the Ukrainian Premier League last season. A fifth-placed finish the season before gave them the chance to play in the Europa League group stages for the first time, but a tough draw gave Karpaty little chance of progression after defeating Galatassaray in the play-off. The Green-Whites drew 1-1 at home with Paris Saint-Germain but lost the return leg as well as both matches against Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund. Karpaty have played against Irish opposition in European competition before- losing 3-2 on aggregate to Shels in the qualifying round for the 1993/94 Cup Winner's Cup.
So far this season Karpaty haven't been in the best of form. Three matches in to the Ukrainian season the Green Dragons sit in 14th position. They lost their first match of the season 1-0 against Illychivets before drawing 1-1 at home against Chornomorets. Last Sunday they lost 2-1 away to Shaktar Donetsk. Spanish striker Lucas and Brazillian midfielder Danilo Avilar the goalscorers, with one goal each. Lucas is a new arrival at the club, having signed from Rayo Vallecano over the summer. He joins compatriots Borja Gomez and Cristobal Marquez at Karpaty. Andriy Tlumak captains the side from his goal.
Karpaty Lviv come from the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine. Lviv has a population of 760,000- meaning it is the seventh-largest city in Ukraine. The name 'Karpaty' comes from the nearby Carpathian Mountains (called Karpaty in Ukrainian). The club was founded in 1963 by workers from a local agricultural factory. After just five years in existence Karpaty were promoted to the Soviet First League (second tier). A year later they became the only club to win the Soviet Cup while still in the First League.
That cup win was their only silverware in the Soviet league system and after independence they have failed to add to it in the Ukrainian league. The Green-Whites have been runners up in the Ukrainian Cup twice and were also runners-up in the Ukrainian First League (second tier) in 2005. Karpaty play in the 29,000-seater Ukraina stadium, which also occasionally hosts the Ukrainian national team.
Karpaty earned the right to play St. Pats due to a fifth-placed finish in the Ukrainian Premier League last season. A fifth-placed finish the season before gave them the chance to play in the Europa League group stages for the first time, but a tough draw gave Karpaty little chance of progression after defeating Galatassaray in the play-off. The Green-Whites drew 1-1 at home with Paris Saint-Germain but lost the return leg as well as both matches against Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund. Karpaty have played against Irish opposition in European competition before- losing 3-2 on aggregate to Shels in the qualifying round for the 1993/94 Cup Winner's Cup.
So far this season Karpaty haven't been in the best of form. Three matches in to the Ukrainian season the Green Dragons sit in 14th position. They lost their first match of the season 1-0 against Illychivets before drawing 1-1 at home against Chornomorets. Last Sunday they lost 2-1 away to Shaktar Donetsk. Spanish striker Lucas and Brazillian midfielder Danilo Avilar the goalscorers, with one goal each. Lucas is a new arrival at the club, having signed from Rayo Vallecano over the summer. He joins compatriots Borja Gomez and Cristobal Marquez at Karpaty. Andriy Tlumak captains the side from his goal.
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