FLARE-CARRYING ultras from Greek giants Panathinaikos are about to invade Shrewsbury.
At least 900 of the Athens giants’ fans look set to descend on the Shropshire town to watch their club take on Welsh Premier League minnows The New Saints at The Croud Meadow.
The Greek side’s Gate 13 ultras are famous for the noise, passion and atmosphere they create home and away.
TNS are playing their Conference League games at the home of the League One club because their own Park Hall Ground in Oswestry does not meet Uefa regulations.
And 19 miles along the A5, the locals are gearing up for tonight’s showdown in the hope that Craig Harrison’s players will smash some plates in their history-making campaign.
As SunSport paid a visit, the only proper Greek restaurant in Shrewsbury — Exo Poli, just over a mile away from the ground — promises “a little bit of Crete” for customers heading to the match.
Closer still is the Charles Darwin pub, named after the “theory of evolution” naturalist who was born in the town.
Manager Katy Hutchings coped with plenty of visiting supporters after 1,800 Swedes descended on Shrewsbury for last month’s visit of Djurgarden.
Those fans left The Croud Meadow in a mess — despite the visitors winning 1-0 — with graffiti sprayed on three sides of the ground and damage in Smithy’s Bar while two dozen seats were ripped out.
But in the Charles Darwin there were no problems. Hutchings said: “We had some bouncers on the doors but we didn’t need them.
“And I’m pretty good at throwing customers out myself anyway!
“We’re well-used to visiting fans coming in here for Shrewsbury’s games and the Swedish lads were fine.
“These games are great for the local economy — and in this town we’re proud of the way we always welcome visitors.”
At the Oxon Priory pub close to the Roman Road, general manager Pam Hayward said: “The more the merrier. We’ll have extra staff in.
“And we look forward to entertaining as many Greeks as want to join us before the game. Everybody around here is hoping The New Saints stay in the competition.”
The Croud Meadow safety officer Lawrence Ellerby added: “There was talk on social media that there might be as many as 4,000 Panathinaikos fans coming. What we know is about 900 visitor tickets have been sold, with plenty of Greek ex–pats here buying them.
“Damage done by Djurgarden fans was disappointing but we know how to cope with big numbers at this club.
“We’ve had the likes of Liverpool and West Ham and never had any big problems.
“We’re looking forward to the Panathinaikos game and their fans and good luck to TNS, we’re happy to give them a temporary home.”
The campaign is not just a money-spinner for the town but also for 16-time domestic champs TNS — the first-ever Welsh League club to qualify for a European competition proper — as they made £4.1million in reaching the league stage.
Goals from Rory Holden and Declan McManus gave them a 2-0 victory over Astana from Kazakhstan at The Croud Meadow to register another first by a Welsh outfit in a major European competition and a £330,000 win bonus.
There was the TNS trip of a lifetime to Florence and a 2–0 loss to Fiorentina plus the 2-1 Dublin defeat to Shamrock Rovers.
But a win over 20-time Greek title winners Panathinaikos would open the way to another Welsh League first — qualification for a European knockout stage.
Last up is a visit to Celje in Slovenia and TNS are just one point off the Conference League’s play-off zone.
Boss Harrison said: “Panathinaikos is huge for this club but if we could even come away from our last two games with four points to reach a total of seven we could have a chance of going through.
“We’ve lost games but we haven’t conceded more than two in any — goal difference could be the deciding factor, if we can get seven points or more!”
