The third qualifying round draw for the UEFA Europa League 2015/16 was held in Nyon, Switzerland on July 17th. Following its results FC Krasnodar got to know the two teams of a tie, the winner of which is to meet the Bulls in a two-leg clash.
The draw chose the following tie for the opposition of the black-greens: ŠK Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) vs. University College Dublin A.F.C. (Ireland). The first leg of the tie was staged yesterday in Slovakia with the home team celebrating a 1:0 victory. The second leg will be played in Ireland on July 23rd.
ŠK Slovan ranked third in a recently ended championship of Slovakia. As for the Irish team, it occupied the 11th, a next to last position in their national championship of 2014, so they got relegated from the League of Ireland Premier Division. This season, since they play under the “spring to autumn” system in Ireland, UCD is currently the third one in the League of Ireland First Division. University College Dublin A.F.C. qualified for the UEFA Europa League 2015/16 as the best Irish team via fair play rankings. As a reminder, following the results of the last season, Netherlands, England and Ireland became the top three member associations in the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking, so they all gained an extra qualification berth each for the second most important club tournament of the Old World.
The first leg of the UEFA Europa League 2015/16 third qualifying round is to be held in Krasnodar on July 30th, while the second one will be an away game on July 6th.