Uefa Europa Conference League third qualifying round, second leg
Larne (1) v FK Balkani (0) (Thursday, 7.45pm)
LARNE find themselves in the driving seat going into tonight’s Uefa Europa Conference League third qualifying round, second leg tie against FC Ballkani at Inver Park
Holding a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg, they know that if they avoid defeat they will be just one tie away from becoming the first team from the Irish Premiership to make the group stages of a major European competition.
The sides met just over a year ago in the second round of the same competition and Ballkani were 3-0 up at the halfway stage of the tie and would go on to win the second leg 4-1.
The man who scored Larne’s goal in that ‘home’ leg at Solitude was Lee Bonis and Larne know they will have to play this second leg and beyond without their talismanic striker after he sealed a move to Dutch second-tier side ADO Den Haag on Monday.
He left them with a parting gift, which was to set up Matty Lusty’s late winner in Pristina last week.
Twenty-one-year-old Lusty penned a new three-year contract just over a month ago which will see him stay at Inver Park until at least 2027 and he will be looking to step into the void left by the man signed from Portadown in January 2022.
Bonis scored 58 goals in 118 appearances on the east Antrim coast and was top scorer in their 2022-23 Gibson Cup success. He will be a big loss for the back-to-back champions, but Larne will still be confident of getting the job done.
The winner of the tie will face the loser of the Europa League tie between Dinamo Minsk and Lincoln Red Imps, which the Belarussians lead 2-0 after the first leg.
Larne manager Tiernan Lynch knows the importance of the home crowd at Inver Park this evening
“We know what our fans can offer on nights like these. We need to be loud and proud to help to drag the boys over the line.”
Lynch was speaking to the club’s official media channel as was goalscorer Lusty, who knows that the tie is far from over:
“It felt amazing to get the goal but we know that they will come at us all guns blazing in the second leg.”
Their European involvement has meant that the Inver men’s domestic season has been pushed back a week to this Sunday when they will visit Seaview to take on Crusaders.
Their scheduled opener was due to be at home to Loughgall last weekend, but that will be rearranged to a later date.
Balkani, meanwhile, began their third season in a row as defending champions of the Superliga on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Dukagjini thanks to a double from Brazilian forward Queven.
He is expected to start tonight, as he did in the first leg, with manager Ilir Daja facing no new availability concerns.
Nigerian striker Sunday Adetunji was suspended for the first leg after his debut red card in his side’s Champions League defeat to UE Santa Coloma but featured at the weekend and may well travel for tonight’s tie.
While Larne hold the narrow advantage, it is worth noting that, although they are winless in their three European home games this summer, the Gabriels have won both of their away legs so far.
They won 2-1 in Andorra before defeating Hamrun Spartans 2-0 in Malta to set up this tie.
Also this evening, St Patricks Athletic travel to Azerbaijan to defend a 1-0 first-leg lead against Sabah Baku (5pm), while Shamrock Rovers look to overturn a similar scoreline when Slovenian side CM Celje visit the Tallaght Stadium (8pm).
