Bala Town v Sligo Rovers: Caton confident ahead of UEFA Conference League clash

Bala Town face a tough test in the UEFA Europa Conference League this Thursday, as they take on League of Ireland side Sligo Rovers at Park Hall, Oswestry (7pm kick off). The Lakesiders will be underdogs going into the two-legged tie but will be confident of upsetting the odds given their previous decent showings in Europe.

The Irish outfit hold the upper hand going into the matches, as they are already over halfway through their league campaign, with their league running from February to November. Bala, on the other hand have just started pre-season a few weeks ago.

Bala Town boss Colin Caton told North Wales Live that despite the odds stacked against his side, he says his team will "give a good account of themselves". The legendary Lakesiders boss has been in charge at Maes Tegid since 2003.

Because Bala's Maes Tegid home doesn't meet UEFA requirements, Thursday night's home leg will be played at The New Saints' Park Hall ground in Oswestry. Caton is confident his side can get a positive result to take over to Ireland.

He said: "It's a really tough draw for us, they're a full-time team. The other disadvantage is that they're halfway through their domestic campaign.

"We've been in pre-season for around a month now, we played TNS in a friendly and we played Cliftonville as well. It's difficult because if the lads don't have a break now they don't have a break at all.

"Our pre-season is always hampered with lads going away, but we do the best we can. It's difficult but I'm sure we'll give a really good account of ourselves like we did against Larne last year."

Despite being in charge at Bala for nearly 20 years, Caton insists he still has plenty of drive and appetite for success. He is also the father of 19-year-old