Soccer

Irish Euro play-offs round-up: Larne slip to defeat, Rovers have mountain to climb and St Pats held to draw

Larne are hoping to become the first Irish League side to qualify for the group stages of a major European competition

A footballer in a white kit delivering a cross
Larne’s Andy Ryan whips in a dangerous cross during this evenings game in Portugal. PICTURE: David McCormick/Pacemaker
By Liam Grimley

EUROPEAN football in Ireland looks to be in a spot of trouble for the season ahead, with none of the three sides winning the first leg of their respective play-offs.

Larne, who are looking to be the first Irish League club to qualify for a major European competition, narrowly lost 2-1 to Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar at Estádio Do Algarve in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs.

Matt Lusty got the East Antrim club off to a good start with a shot from distance that dipped under the goalkeeper and hit the crossbar on the way in.

A football player in a white kit kicking a ball with a player in a red and black kit attempting to block the shot
Larne’s Matty Lusty puts the Inver men 1-0 against Lincoln Red Imps in the Estadio de Algarve. Picture: David McCormick/Pacemaker

Goals from Kike Gomez and Joe Martinez turned the tide in the Red Imps’ favour.

This leaves a task for Larne to overturn this result at Inver Park in the return leg.

Meanwhile, Shamrock Rovers left Greece with a mountain to climb in Tallaght Park after suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of PAOK in the UEFA Europa League play-offs.

The game looked bright for the Hoops as they went deep into injury time at the end of the first half with the game evenly poised at 0-0, however, Dan Cleary’s own goal gave the reigning Greek champions the lead at the break.

Taison added a second shortly after the game got back underway to double the Rovers’ troubles.

Josh Honohan’s sending-off and a third from Giannis Konstantelias killed the game off with the Dublin side doing well to keep it at 3-0, saving a penalty in the process.

Aberdeen were beaten at home by PAOK (Steve Welsh/PA)
PAOK's Giannis Konstantelias (pictured here against Aberdeen) scored in his side's 4-0 win against Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Europa League play-offs (Steve Welsh/PA)

Former Chelsea defender Abdul Baba Rahman rounded off the scoring for PAOK and made the return leg that much harder.

Elsewhere, St. Patrick’s Athletic came up against tough opposition in the shape of Istanbul Basaksehir, with the FAI Cup holders being held to a 0-0 draw against the Turkish side to keep their UEFA Europa Conference League group stage hopes alive.