Shelbourne could have a familiar trip to Windsor Park in Belfast for the second leg of their Uefa Conference League second round qualifier on July 30th. Shelbourne will meet the winner of Linfield v Nõmme Kalju in the second round, so before the third instalment of an all-Ireland meeting between Shels and Linfield can be confirmed, David Healy’s side must get past their Estonian opponents in the opening round.Either way, Shelbourne are at Tolka Park for their second round first-leg qualifier on July 23rd. Joey O’Brien’s men faced Linfield on four occasions last season, winning 2-1 on aggregate in the Champions League first round qualifier and 5-1 in the Conference League playoffs to progress to the group stages for the first time. Shels struggled in their new environment, finishing 34th out of the 36 teams.If Bohemians get past St Joseph’s (Gibraltar) in the Conference League first round qualifiers they will welcome Welsh club Connah’s Quay Nomads or Ballkani from Kosovo to Dalymount Park for the second round first-leg on July 23rd.Ballkani beat Shamrock Rovers 1-0 in a Conference League qualifier last season only to be trashed 4-0 in Tallaght with goals from Rory Gaffney (two), Josh Honohan and Graham Burke. Rovers will play Armenia’s Ararat or Latvian side Riga in the Champions League second round qualifiers if they overcome Maltese side Floriana. If not, Stephen Bradley’s team will be rerouted to the Conference League to play the loser of FK Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania) v FC Drita (Kosovo), which would leave the Hoops two ties away from a third successive season in the Conference League group stage. Derry City will face European specialists Qarabag from Azerbaijan or Vestri from Iceland in the Europa League second round qualifiers should they overcome CSKA Sofia. If Tiernan Lynch’s side are defeated by the Bulgarians, they will play HNK Rijeka of Croatia in the Conference League second round qualifiers.Rijeka knocked Shels out of the Europa League last season, reversing a shock 2-1 loss at home to win 3-1 at Tolka Park. The draw for the third round of European qualifiers will be held on July 20th.
Shelbourne face potential reunion with Linfield in European qualifier
David Healy’s side must overcome Kosovo opposition to set up third all-Ireland meeting in 12 months












