Trip wire

Tomorrow night’s Europa Conference League fixture with DAC represents just the seventh occasion on which Cliftonville have played away from home in the opening leg of a European tie.

A healthy away support will be in attendance at MOL Arena as the Reds bid to begin the first qualifying round clash on a positive note in Dunajska Streda – but does history carry kind omens when it comes to first leg travels?

Well, yes and no.

The first time Cliftonville were away from home in the initial joust of a continental encounter was back in 2001 when Tiligul Tiraspol of Moldova claimed a 1-0 win in an Intertoto Cup game at Stadion Municipal. A week later, a Chris Scannell strike levelled things up to take the tie to extra-time back at Solitude, where the nine-man Reds – who had both Pat Wall and Michael Collins sent off – were eventually undone, conceding three goals as Tiligul progressed to a second round meeting with Hungarian side Tatabanya.

Some six years would pass until the Club’s next first leg away day, with KAA Gent of Belgium claiming a 2-0 success over a history-making Cliftonville side that had just ousted Latvian outfit Dinaburg from the Intertoto Cup.

Gent added four unanswered goals when the teams renewed rivalries at Windsor Park the following week before losing out to Aalborg in one of that summer’s 11 competition Finals.

In 2010, meanwhile, the Reds were afforded precious little turnaround time in the aftermath of their seismic Europa League triumph over HNK Cibalia, trekking to Bulgaria to tackle CSKA Sofia just five days after performing heroics in Croatia.

Though the 3-0 scoreline flattered the hosts, this was nevertheless another first leg away game that ended in defeat without a goal being scored, with fortune at a premium in the return game as CSKA netted twice in the closing stages to bank a 2-1 win and 5-1 overall success.

Twelve months later, a Park Hall dust-up with The New Saints ended that aforementioned barren run when a stunning Barry Johnston goal earned Cliftonville a battling 1-1 draw in Oswestry.

Ultimately, however, the curse of the first leg travels would have an overall impact on the tie, with TNS scoring in the opening minutes at Solitude before clinging on for dear life to claim a barely believable 2-1 aggregate triumph.

So far, so bad.

But things changed in 2016 when an injury-time header from Ross Lavery secured a 1-1 draw against Differdange in Luxembourg before, for the first time in history, the Reds completed the job back on home soil; Davy McDaid and Jay Donnelly on the scoresheet on a memorable night in Belfast.

A more emphatic development on that theme was produced three years ago when Cliftonville were paired with Welsh outfit Barry Town United in the preliminary round of the Europa League.

Again, a first leg stalemate – 0-0 at Leckwith Stadium in Cardiff – set the scene for victory at Solitude, where Conor McMenamin, Joe Gormley, Conor McDermott and Ruaidhri Donnelly were on target in a 4-0 success that ranks as the Club’s biggest ever win in European competition and which should, in theory at least, offer further assuagement of any fears regarding the continued influence of an opening away leg curse.

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History of first leg away trips
2001 Intertoto Cup
Tiligul Tiraspol 1-0 Cliftonville
Cliftonville 1-3 Tiligul Tiraspol (after extra-time)
Aggregate: Cliftonville 1-4 Tiligul Tiraspol

2007 Intertoto Cup
KAA Gent 2-0 Cliftonville
Cliftonville 0-4 KAA Gent*
Aggregate: Cliftonville 0-6 KAA Gent

2010 Europa League
CSKA Sofia 3-1 Cliftonville
Cliftonville 1-2 CSKA Sofia*
Aggregate: Cliftonville 1-5 CSKA Sofia

2011 Europa League
The New Saints 1-1 Cliftonville
Cliftonville 0-1 The New Saints
Aggregate: Cliftonville 1-2 The New Saints

2016 Europa League
Differdange 1-1 Cliftonville
Cliftonville 2-0 Differdange
Aggregate: Cliftonville 3-1 Differdange

2019 Europa League
Barry Town United 0-0 Cliftonville
Cliftonville 4-0 Barry Town United
Aggregate: Cliftonville 4-0 Barry Town United

* Played at Windsor Park