Uefa Europa Conference League first qualifying round, first leg
Caernarfon 2 Crusaders 0
CRUSADERS went down 2-0 in their first-leg tie against Welsh side Caernarfon Town tonight.
In perfect conditions, the Crues were shell-shocked early on when they went behind to a Morgan Owen goal. The home side doubled their advantage just before the break via Zack Clarke.
The north Belfast outfit battled hard in the second half but could not force a consolation and now have it all to do next week in the second leg.
The game was only four minutes old when the hosts went ahead. Owen found a yard of space just outside the box and unleashed a stunning strike which curled past Jonny Tuffey and into the back of the net to shock the visitors.
Crusaders’ best chance of the half fell soon after to new signing Kieran Offord, who was played in by a smart pass from Jordan Stewart, but stopper Stephen McMullan quickly smothered the danger before Offord could get his shot away.
Town continued to dominate possession in the opening period and were rewarded with a second on 37 minutes.
Clarke got the better of his marker after receiving a clever pass from Darren Thomas and stroked the ball home beyond the grasp of the onrushing Tuffey to make it two. That was the way it would stay at the break.
Crusaders began the second period much brighter and were more of a threat in the final third by way of substitute Adam Lecky.
The visitors’ best chance came via Philip Lowry with 20 minutes to play. Gruff John cleared Lowry’s header off the line before also clearing the rebound much to the frustration of the Hatchetmen.
Stephen Baxter’s men battled hard to the end but failed to leave a mark on the scoreboard and they now face an uphill battle in next week’s return leg at Seaview if they are to make the second round of qualification.