Nomads Euro adventure continues on Thursday with a very tricky trip to Novi Sad in Serbia.

So the European championships have finished, an average Portugease side beat a decent French side in Paris on Sunday evening and oh, it could so easily have been Wales.

Alas it wasnt to be, but if you’re missing a fix of European footie this week then gap Connah’s Quay will come to the rescue on Thursday as they take on FK Vojvodinan in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Situated alongside the River Danube the Serbian city of Novi Sad, the country’s second-largest city behind Belgrade, plays host to Deeside’s finest in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the Europa League.

Novi Sad a cultural and financial centre of Serbia

Novi Sad with a population of around 250,000, was an important trading city for Serb merchants who formed colonies along the Danube River.

The city is dominated by the Petrovaradin fortress and was once a strategic military post dating back to the 1690’s – Novi Sad is now an industrial and financial centre for the Serb economy, as well as a major cultural centre.

Nomad’s players used to playing in the shadow of the huge Flintshire Bridge at the Deeside stadium should feel quite at home in the city with its lookalike Liberty Bridge straddling the Danube, unlike the Flintshire Bridge Novi Sad’s bridge was bombed by NATO in the 1999.

Liberty Bridge (on the left) in Novi Sad was partially destroyed in a NATO bombardement in 1999 – Flintshire Bridge which opened in 1998 doesn’t really get used much.

FK Vojvodina has a rich pedigree in European competition having appeared in the Champions League/ European Cup nine times and over 47 appearances in the UEFA Cup.

The club are ranked 193 by UEFA ahead of European stalwarts Olympiakos of Greece, Sweden’s IFK Göteborg runners-up in the Allsvenskan last season and Motherwell who finished fifth in the Scottish Premier League last May.

So, on paper the Nomads trip to Serbia looks pretty daunting but, if the team plays with the belief and guile showed in Norway last week there’s no reason why Andy Morrison and the lads can’t bring the Serbs back to Deeside having bagged a decent result in the Karađorđe Stadium on Thursday night.

FK Vojvodina cruised into the second round with a 6-1 aggregate win over Montenegrin first division outfit FK Bokelj who offered little resistance in the away leg in a noisy 14,500 capacity Karađorđe Stadium.

Kick off in the Karađorđe Stadium is at 8pm Thursday 14th July.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about the Karađorđe Stadium

The home field of Vojvodina is the Karađorđe Stadium.

It is named after Karađorđe, the leader of the First Serbian uprising against the Ottoman occupation.

Formerly, it was known as the City Stadium or Vojvodina Stadium, but it was renamed on request of the Vojvodina fans in 2007 to Karađorđe Stadium.

However, it was in fact the older and original name of the stadium that was used from its foundation until the end of the World War II.

With a total capacity of about 20 000, of which 14 458 seats,^[21] it is one of the largest football stadiums in Serbia.

The stadium has a new athletic track, and it is equipped with new Philips LED lights and 1700 lux strong floodlights.

The stadium features a VIP sector with 150 seats, VIP caffe-restaurant, press center, and 14 fully equipped broadcast cabins. It is also the home ground for the Serbian U-21 football team.^[22]