Bangor City face a trip to the depths of eastern Europe in the Europa League as the Citizens were drawn against Moldovan side Zimbru Chişinău.
Having been draw against Finnish opponents for three successive seasons the trip to one of Europe’s lesser known countries is likely to be a very different experience for Neville Powell’s side.
But Llanelli and Cefn Druids will be treading the familiar path toward Scandinavia having both come out of the hat to face Finnish opposition.
The Reds will face KuPS, who lost in the Finnish Cup final against the eventual league champions, HJK, whilst the Druids face MyPa who secured their place in Europe through the Fair Play league.
This won’t be the first time a Welsh club has ventured to Moldova as Cwmbran played Nistru Otaci in the Intertoto Cup in 2000 with the Welsh side losing both legs 1-0.
Despite being Moldova’s most successful side following the break up of the Soviet Union, Zimbru have found life difficult in recent seasons.
They have failed to win a league title since 2000 with Sheriff Tiraspol ruling the roost in footballing terms and with newly formed Daci Chişinău winning the title in 2010.11, Zimbru are not even the best side in the capital city any more.
The last time Zimbru played in Europe they beat Okzhetpes of Kazakhstan 3-2 over two legs in the first qualifying round before losing 0-1 to Paços de Ferreira of Portugal.
As well as being able to draw on the experiences of Honka and HJK’s recent exploits against Bangor City, MyPa will also be able to call on their own experience of neating the Saints in the 2006 Champions League as they prepare to travel to face Cefn Druids.
And despite not being as successful on the domestic front since 2006, MyPa have secured their second successive season in the Europa League by virtue of finishing top of the Fair Play League.
Llanelli’s Finnish opponents, KuPS, have also secured a second successive Europa League campaign.
After a 20 year absence, KuPS played in last season’s Europa League having finished as runners up in the Veikkausliiga, and they return again this season having finished as Finnish Cup runners-up, losing to eventual league champions, HJK.
