It was a historic day for Nomme Kalju yesterday when they overturned their 1-0 deficit to defeat Shkendija.
It’s not only because they’ve progressed to the second qualifying round of the Champions League. It’s also the first time they’ve ever faced a club as big as Celtic in European competition. Indeed, the likes of Maccabi Haifa and Lech Poznan have been as good as it gets for Celtic’s second-round opponents (excuse us for assuming we won’t lose 3-0 at home to Sarajevo tonight).
Indeed, the Estonian outfit have never played anyone near the quality or profile of the Hoops. It really is a dream come true for these players to potentially come out the tunnel at Celtic Park. It’ll be the biggest stadium many of them will have and will ever play in.
Yesterday, we touched a little on Nomme Kalju’s European record before their second leg against Shkendija. But now, we take a deeper look at how they’ve fared in continental competition.
Kalju are a fairly new club in fairness. They were originally formed in 1927, but were only re-established in 1997 after being disbanded for the Second World War. Their formation saw them rise quickly into the top division of Estonian football, and they made their European debut just 10 years ago in 2009.
In total, they’ve won just nine of 34 matches in European competition. Out of their total ties, they’ve also managed seven wins in 17. It’s hardly brilliant stuff, but not a disaster either.
Not much to look back on for Nomme Kalju in Europe
What should make this tie easy meat for Celtic is the fact that Kalju have only ever qualified twice for the Champions League qualifiers. They have just two wins in Champions League ties throughout their history. Their victory in Shkendija yesterday was their first ever victory away from home in the Champions League at any stage.
Their home record isn’t much to shout about either. They’ve won just five of 14 home matches in European competition, and just one out of three in Champions League qualifying.
They have actually progressed further than the second qualifying round before. Back in 2013, they reached the third qualifying round against Viktoria Plzen, eventually losing 10-2 on aggregate.
They’ve never reached group stage football in any European competition. When it comes to the Europa League, they did manage the playoff round once back in 2013 too, but were mauled 5-1 by Dnipro on aggregate.
Their history on the continent isn’t extensive. Any victory over Celtic would likely be the biggest in the club’s history, or at least the most impressive.
The Lincoln Red Imps proved that we can’t take anything for granted. But in the second qualifying round of the Champions League, we couldn’t have asked for much better than Kalju.
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