July 19 – Have you ever heard of Connah’s Quay Nomads? Thought not
The tiny Welsh part-time team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the recent history of European football on Thursday when they travelled to Kilmarnock and knocked the Scottish Premier League side out of the Europa League in the first qualifying round.
In fact, says the team’s manager Andy Morrison, it was a far bigger result than Liverpool beating Barcelona 4-0 last season.
To put the result into perspective, Kilmarnock finished third in Scotland’s top flight last season behind only Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers.
But after winning the first leg away 1-0 against the aptly named Nomads, they were stunned in the return leg on their own pitch as the visitors won 2-0 to set up a trip to Partisan Belgrade in the next round
“What we’ve achieved is something quite remarkable,” said Morrison whose side who finished second in the Welsh Premier League last term and attract an average attendance of just 270.
“You don’t write off teams of men. They have the hearts the size of lions, and never back down. It’s a monumental achievement by them all. The lads are going to get back home at five in the morning, six of them have work tomorrow and then we’ve got to get ready for Serbia next week.”
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