Uefa Europa Conference League second qualifying round, second leg FK Auda 2 Cliftonville 0 (agg: 4-1)
IRISH Cup winners Cliftonville’s European journey ended yesterday as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Auda at the Skonto Stadium in Latvia.
Abiodun Ogunniyi and Abdulraham Taiwo both netted in last week’s 2-1 win at Solitude and the same pair bagged a goal apiece as the Latvian’s ran out comfortable 4-1 winners across the two legs.
Both sides had chances to break the deadlock during the opening half but neither could find the net. However, it didn’t take long after the break for the first goal to arrive, Ogunniyi firing low past David Odumosu.
A second followed just 10 minutes later, from Taiwo, to put the final dent into any dreams of the Reds launching a meaningful comeback. He held off the challenge of Shaun Leppard before slipping the ball past Odumosu.
Both sides passed up opportunities to add further goals but Auda had done enough to qualify for the next round.
They will now face FC Drita in the third qualifying round, while Cliftonville’s attentions will turn towards the league season, which gets underway on August 11 with a home tie against Portadown.
