For the first time a Northern Ireland team meets an Irish team in the European Cup. A game that is not only about football, but also about religion.
In order to get even the smallest in the city in the mood for this historic game Joel Neill visited some primary schools this week. Northern Ireland champions board member Lorraine FC it had something very special: a copy of the Conference Series-Cup. In front of the excited eyes of the children Neill the trophy from a large silver suit and presented it. Each child was allowed to touch the coveted trophy.
Even if Neil’s Although the club is far away from winning this cup, the euphoria in the small port town is huge. Lorraine FC is the first club from Northern Ireland to ever qualify for the European Cup competition. The club now plays in the Congressional Treaty and will play his first home game of the league stage on Thursday – against an explosive opponent: the Rovers Shamrock from Ireland.
A club from Northern Ireland against one from Ireland, this encounter only happened on a smaller scale, but never in a major European club competition. This is explosive because it is also a fight between religions: the Protestant-dominated Northern Irish against the Catholic-influenced Irish.
30 years of civil war in Northern Ireland
The battle of religions plunged Northern Ireland into civil war between 1969 and 1998 between Protestants who wanted to remain part of the British kingdom and Catholics who proposed uniting with Catholic Ireland. Although both parties agreed to a ceasefire in 1998, the conflict still has an impact today. Violence is always politically motivated.
The duel is therefore now explosive Congressional Treaty. Since the stadium in Lorne with 2,500 seats does not comply with UEFA regulations, the match will take place in Windsor Park, the national stadium of Northern Ireland in the capital, Belfast, almost 40 kilometers from Lorne. Police expect over 5,000 followers, including 1,600 Clover-A supporter from Ireland, and warned all spectators before the game to behave peacefully.
Windsor Park Stadium in Belfast
German goalkeeper at Shamrock
All you have to do is warm up the “Derby of God” on the field. Shamrocks Germany goalkeeper Leon Pöhls recently gave a preview of this in the “Copa TS” podcast: “It will be very hot, it will be crazy. There will be a few yellow cards flying,” said the 27-year-old from Hamburg. Pöhls moved from regional league side Eintracht Norderstedt’s youth team to the USA in 2014 and joined Shamrock in 2019 through various academy teams.
With the record champions of Ireland he has won the championship title in each of the last four years and also landed the first Conference Seriesgame of the season: Shamrock scored a 1-1 draw against APOEL Nicosia from Cyprus thanks to a goal in stoppage time. Accordingly, the Irish are now facing the cross-border duel larna you prefer.
Criticism of Lorraine’s rapid rise
Northern Irish paid in their opening game in the Congressional Treaty At Norwegian club Molde FK, however, they learned their lesson and suffered a 3-0 defeat. And they are also currently struggling with criticism from their own league: this larna one of the few only professional clubs, which is also due to the fact that they became millionaires a few years ago Kenny Bruce into the club. Rapid development followed: promotion to the first league in 2019, champions in 2023 and 2024, and now participation in the European Cup for the first time.
Many of the fans of the other clubs in Northern Ireland look at Lorne that way. trainer Tiernan Lynch but he hopes to end this rivalry in the island championship against Shamrock: “I think it is essential that the fans of the Northern Ireland league get behind us. Lorraine’s success is not only important for the UEFA coefficient of the league , but it helps every club “We have to give financial support to other clubs and the league as well. The more we can make it a ‘North versus South’ game, the better,” he said.
Famous to hold Motivational speeches near Lorne
To further encourage the players, Lorne had notable visitors during the week: Ex-Manchester United-star Patrick Evra and former Northern Ireland boxing champion Carl Frampton The players set the mood for the explosive duel with a speech. “I wanted to show the players how important belief is. If you believe in something in life, you can achieve anything,” said Evra in an interview with the BBC.
He is a close confidant of the main sponsor of Conradh na Gaeilge larna and they will also be watching the game in the stadium on Thursday. And Evra, who now lives in Dubai, is clear-eyed: “I didn’t come all the way from Dubai to see Lorne lose. So it’s better to win,” he said with a wink.