BALA TOWN have been handed a massive tie against Belgian giants Standard Liège in the second qualifying round of the Uefa Europa League in Monday’s draw.

After being placed in pot number five, Bala knew that they faced potential seeded opposition in Aberdeen of Scotland, Willem II of the Netherlands and Standard Liège of Belgium at today's draw in Nyon.

Bala boss Colin Caton admitted that his side will face a mammoth task against 10-time Belgian champions, who have also won the Belgian Cup on eight occasions, and reached the finals of the Uefa Cup Winners Cup and Intertoto Cup in the past.

Standard Liège had finished in fifth position in the Belgian League's division one last season, and they are currently sat in second place this season, after four games.

“We would have preferred one of the other two, but we have just got to get on with it now,” said Bala manager Colin Caton. “It’s so difficult to come up against the calibre of opposition that we were drawn against in that pack."Standard Liege is the standout one for me. I think they’ve drawn one game and they’ve won the rest this season, so we know that it’s going to be a really tough game for us.

“It’s a massive task for us to get a result, but we’ve got so much faith in the lads we’ve signed and the lads we’ve had with us over the last few years. There have been bigger shocks in football.”

After their historic 1-0 win over Valletta in Malta last Thursday, Caton had said he wanted a glamour European tie, after reaching the second qualifying round for the first time in the Club’s history.

“Galatasaray, Spurs, AC Milan all come into it at this stage - there’s a lot of big hitters. It’s a massive opportunity,” Caton said. “Getting a draw against one of the big teams could really enhance our reputation.

“It’s unbelievable for us to get to this stage, because Valletta were a full-time team and quite a big side in Malta. With the Covid restrictions we’ve had in the past few months, to get that result really was absolutely fantastic.

“We’ve had so much heartache over the past few years, so for us to progress further was just unbelievable really. The result was a fantastic achievement, not just for Bala, but for Welsh football as well.”Bala had initally been given home advantage against the Belgian club, but with Connah’s Quay also provisionally arranging to play their tie at Cardiff City Stadium, Bala's fixture has now been reversed.Therefore the Lakesiders will now travel to Belgium to play their match behind closed doors on 17 September, with the winners welcoming Vojvodina of Serbia in the third qualifying round of the competition.Connah's Quay, having lost 2-0 against FK Sarajevo of Bosnia in the Uefa Champions League qualifying round one in Cardiff, have a home tie against Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi in the second qualifying round.

Meanwhile The New Saints will travel to the Faroe Islands to face B36 Tórshavn in round two of Europa League qualifying after their thrilling 3-1 victory over MSK Zilina of Slovakia at Park Hall on Thursday.

The Saints played Tórshavn in the first qualifying round of the Champions League in 2015-16, winning that tie 6-2 on aggregate. This year’s Uefa Europa League second qualifying round ties are one-legged affairs.