It is safe to assume not many Motherwell fans are overly aware of Aalesund but the initial reaction is that this is a great draw. If we progress against the Icelanders we will travel to Norway on July 29 and host them at Fir Park a week later.
Aalesund are a club of relatively modest means by Norwegian standards and qualified for Europe by winning their domestic cup last season. This is their only major honour but despite this limited success, they are making progress off the park with attendances shooting up in recent years. However, their league positions in the 16-team Tippeligaen have not been overly impressive and though not likely to be relegated this year, a mid-table finish this year would represent a big improvement on recent efforts.
Johan Arneng, who has won Swedish titles with Djurgarden, is an excellent midfielder but they have injury problems in that are presently with Carlsen and Skiri, two regular starters, being injured. At either end of the park, Lindegaard is a very solid goalkeeper and Aaroy will be a threat up front but overall it is hard not to believe that this draw has given us a superb chance of reaching the play-off round to mingle with the big boys. Of course, we have to take care of business on Thursday first!