Drogheda United manager Paul Doolin thinks that his team were given a fair draw in the Uefa Champions League First Round Qualifying after being pitted against Levadia Tallinn.

The eircom Premier Division champions will start the two-legged match with a home tie on either July 15th or 16th after they were drawn out ahead of their Estonian opponents. The return leg takes place two weeks later.

While Doolin admits to not knowing too much about the Meistriliiga champions, he is aware of their European escapades in recent years - especially as they defeated Bohemians. He will not be under-estimating them going into their crunch match.

“I think it is a good draw for us, in that we don’t have to travel too far,” Doolin said.

“There was a worry that we might have a long away trip ahead of us, but I think we could have done a lot worse than getting a team from Estonia.

“As far as I know, they have done quite well in both the Uefa Cup and Champions League qualifiers in recent years. They will be used to travelling all around Europe for games like this and will know what to expect.

“Hopefully we can get off to the best possible start with a win in the first leg, which thankfully is at home and that means we have the necessary time to prepare for the games.”

The reward for reaching the Second Round of Qualifying is a home tie against Dynamo Kiev, and Doolin is excited about the prospect of meeting such a well-known team.

“Dynamo Kiev were one of the teams in the draw that I was looking out for, to see who got them,” explained Doolin.

“They are a club with a great history and it would be a huge test to come up against them. Playing teams like that is what the Champions League is all about.

“It is a great incentive for the players to get past Levadia and I’m sure they will be working extra hard to prove their fitness ahead of that game, if we get through our first qualifying match that is.”

In the UEFA Cup first qualifying round draw, St. Patrick’s Athletic were paired with Latvian side JFK Olimps.

Cork City, winners of the 2007 FAI Ford Cup, will host FC Haka of Finland in the first round of their first round tie.

The first qualifying round was separated into three regional sections, with ties to be played on 17 and 31 July.  

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