Cardiff 'in much better place' to compete in Europe

Iain Darbyshire led the Bluebirds to a domestic treble for the first time in the club's history during the 2023-24 campaign

Iain Darbyshire believes Cardiff City Women are in a far better place at present to challenge in Europe as they prepare for their Champions League qualifying campaign.

The Bluebirds, the Adran Premier title holders, go to reigning League of Ireland Women's Premier Division champions Athlone Town in the semi-finals of the first qualifying round on Wednesday night (19:30 BST).

It will be Cardiff's third successive season of competing in the Champions League qualifying phase, although they are yet to win in Europe.

But having dominated the domestic game of late, head coach Darbyshire feels the club are now better equipped to challenge further afield.

"We have been successful but we hadn't been in the Champions League prior to the last couple of years, I think it was 10 years before that," he said.

"The women's game changes incredibly quickly. The first couple of years in the Champions League were a real steep learning curve for us, and we feel that, right now, we're in a much better place.

"The group have been together for well over a year now and we feel we can have a positive week when we're away in Ireland."

In 2023, the Bluebirds were beaten by Lithuanian side FC Gintra and Irish club Shelbourne.

Last time out, they lost to Dutch powerhouses FC Twente and North Macedonian outfit Ljuboten.

But they go into their latest European campaign having won the Adran Premier for a third consecutive year in addition to winning the Bute Energy Welsh Cup four seasons in a row.

Darbyshire says success in Europe is key to ensuring Cardiff build on their progress on Welsh soil.

"It's about maintaining our standards and building year on year and not just resting on the fact that we've been so successful," he added.

"We want to keep being successful and set ourselves even bigger targets for the future.

"I think we need to win a game in the Champions League. It is the next step for us - we're not going there to just make up the numbers.

"We need to do this as a group and overcome the hurdles that we've had over previous years.

"Domestically, we're aiming to win everything - that's the standards we've set ourselves. We feel that we can do it - we've got a good squad."

Since joining from Barry Town United in the summer of 2022, defender Megan Bowen has been a pivotal figure in the Bluebirds' success.

The 19-year-old is confident Cardiff can take the next step by emerging victorious on the continent.

"We like breaking down the barriers. We went unbeaten, we won the treble and hopefully the next step is to win games in the Champions League. That's our aspirations as a squad," she said.

"I believe the growth and development in this squad is hopefully going to make it possible this year."

The winner of Cardiff's contest with last year's FAI Women's Cup runners-up Athlone will face newly-crowned Croatian champions ZNK Agram in the final on Saturday, 2 August.

The victor of that fixture in Ireland will progress to the second qualifying round - with Icelandic side Breidablik lying in wait in the semi-finals.

FC Twente and Serbian side ZFK Crvena Zvezda are the potential opponents for the final and third-place play-off.