| Legg keen to avoid difficult ties |
| Friday 18 June 2010 |
 FIRST-time European contenders Port Talbot and more experienced campaigners Llanelli are both in the draw for the first qualifying round of the Europa League on Monday. Potential opponents for the south Wales duo include Anorthosis Famagusta, the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group-stage contenders. Reds' boss Andy Legg is keen to avoid the Cypriots as well as one or two of the other seeded clubs, and they could also face Swedish Fair Play winners Gefle, who they famously beat 2-1 in 2006 to reach the second qualifying round of the Uefa Cup during their European debut. "There's not really anyone I fancy, but there are a couple of teams I don't want," Legg told the South Wales Evening Post. "Dynamo Tbilisi are a big name from the past, and going to Cyprus, there would be an issue with the weather because playing in 110 degree heat would be very difficult. "But we'll take whoever we get. We did well against Motherwell last year and I don't think the players got enough credit for that result. "Going to an SPL side and getting a victory was incredible, especially one that finished fourth in the league. "We got our tactics spot on against Motherwell, although maybe we got one or two things wrong in the second leg. "The big disadvantage is that we could have to play someone who are halfway through their season. That's a massive advantage for them," added Legg "But we'll just get on with it. We'll make no excuses. We didn't complain about injuries or suspensions last year and we won't complain about things this year." Equal numbers of seeded and unseeded teams have been allocated to five groups in accordance with rankings established at the beginning of the season - four of ten teams and one of 12. For each group, balls containing seeded teams will be placed in one bowl and unseeded teams in another with A ball from each determining the ties, the first team drawn playing its first-leg match at home. Welsh Cup winners Bangor City go straight into the draw for the second qualifying round alongside 79 other clubs, who will be divided into eight groups of 10, each containing five seeded and five unseeded teams. The draw, which uses the same procedure as the first qualifying round, will also take place on Monday. Olympiacos FC are the strongest possible opponents for Nev Powell's side, four months after being edged out of the round of 16 by Bordeaux. The two-legged first qualifying round ties take place on 1 and 8 July. Photo: Llanelli beat Motherwell in their first leg tie last season. |