BALA TOWN FC will take to the pitch in the first-ever round of fixtures in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday.

The Lakesiders finished third in the JD Cymru Premier table come the end of the 21/22 season, once again qualifying for Europe as a result.

Colin Caton's side have been drawn to face Northern Irish club Larne with the first leg taking place at TNS' Park Hall for a 7.30pm kick off.

And they will be hoping for a repeat of last season's heroics in Europe when they beat Valletta 1-0 away in Malta thanks to a goal from captain Chris Venables.

As ties back then were one-legged due to Covid-19 it meant that Bala progressed to the second qualifying round for the first-time ever.

There, they went on to face Belgian giants Standard Liege and fought bravely away from home once more only to narrowly lose out 2-0 in the end.

Should Bala win the two-legger against Larne then a tie against Danish side Aarhus awaits them.