Cardiff City will conclude their UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign against North Macedonian side ZFK Ljuboten in the Netherlands on Saturday (KO 11am BST).
Although the Bluebirds cannot progress in the competition after their 7-0 defeat to FC Twente on Wednesday, this third-place play-off match does present them with a chance to become the first Welsh side to win in Europe since Cardiff Met in 2019.
With Twente’s team containing multiple internationals, the Dutch champions were ultimately too strong for City in the Group 5 semi-final, but the scoreline was only 3-0 after 70 minutes before a late blitz.
“We competed so well,” boss Iain Darbyshire said after the game. “First off, I thought we were unlucky to be losing at half-time. I thought we had some good opportunities and we caused problems, but also, we were so solid and I think everything we’d worked on in pre-season helped us. For us now, we can develop from this performance, we will take a lot from it.”
Darbyshire handed competitive Bluebirds debuts to Fiona Barry and Nieve Jenkins against Twente, with Laura Curnock coming off the bench. Lily Billingham and Shannon Evans, who returned to the club this summer, also featured in a new-look Cardiff side.
Captain Hannah Power could get an opportunity on Saturday – she was an unused substitute against Twente as teenager Megan Bowen took the armband – while Mackenzie Olden may also hope to get minutes after returning from nine months out with an ACL injury.
ZFK Ljuboten were heavily beaten in Group 5’s other semi-final on Wednesday, losing 10-0 to Icelandic champions Valur after conceding four goals in the opening 18 minutes.
They have won the Macedonian Women’s Football Championship in each of the last three seasons, but are yet to win a game in the UEFA Women’s Champions League – conceding 38 goals across five matches so far.
Ljuboten’s squad is mostly made up of North Macedonian natives – including captain Aleksandra Markovska who plays for the national team – alongside four Colombians. Forward Ingrid Vidal represented the South American country at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
