Soccer

Cliftonville facing uphill battle to progress in Europe after defeat by Auda

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Cliftonville lost the opening leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie
Cliftonville lost the opening leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie (Mike Egerton/PA)

Cliftonville lost the first leg of their Europa Conference League second qualifying round clash to Latvian outfit Auda on Wednesday night.

The Sports Direct Premiership side slipped to a 2-1 home defeat at Solitude and face an uphill battle to reach the third and final qualifying round.

Abiodun Ogunniyi put the visitors ahead before Luke Conlan levelled from a corner before the break.

But Auda gave themselves a win to take back to Kekava next week as Abdulrahman Taiwo struck with 13 minutes to go.

If Cliftonville can overturn the deficit they will meet either Breioablik of Iceland or Kosovan side Drita for a place in the Europa Conference League proper.