It was very much a week to forget for British representatives in the Europa League First Qualifying Round as it was a whitewash in terms of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish exits. The biggest headline was undoubtedly Glasgow Rangers’ exit at the hands of Progres Niedercorn of Luxembourg.
The Ibrox outfit only took a 1-0 advantage into the second leg and the tie was very much alive going into Tuesday’s fixture but by the end of it Rangers’ hopes of at least making the group stages had died after their shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of the minnows.
Embarrasing scenes all round and manager Pedro Caixinha is already under mounting pressure, this defeat can be added to losses last season to both Aberdeen and Celtic with the latter resulting in a 5-1 thumping at the hands of the treble winners.
If they do not start the domestic season quickly then his head could very well be on the chopping block, which considering the amount of financial backing he has been given in this transfer window is not all that much of a promising situation.
There were defeats also for St Johsntone, Connah’s Quay Nomands, Bala Town, Bangor City, Ballymena, Crusaders and Coleraine in what was an awful run of results for all clubs with a British connection. At least the Republic of Ireland had something to smile about as both Shamrock Rovers and Cork City progressed to the next round which starts next Thursday.
Here is a run down of the results in full