TIERNAN Lynch knows how much of a difference the Inver Park faithful can make and they may never have a bigger role to play than on Thursday evening.
The Larne manager was full of praise for those who made the trip to Faro for last week’s Uefa Europa Conference League play-off round, first leg against Lincoln Red Imps in the cavernous Estadio do Algarve:
“We didn’t really know what to expect in such a big, empty stadium but our fans were incredible,” Lynch told the club’s official media channel after the 2-1 defeat.
“We will definitely need them to be the 12th man at Inver”
Larne are 90 minutes away from history if they can turn that slender deficit around at home on Thursday and one wouldn’t bet against them.
They will probably be scratching their heads as to how they left the Algarve without the tie level at least after dominating for large parts of the game.
They led through a stunning strike from Matty Lusty just after the quarter-hour mark but were behind by half-time after two pieces of slack defending allowed the Red Imps to capitalise.
The Gibraltarian champions did not show much otherwise and seemed happy to hold a one-goal lead in the second half but they showed their ability to take their chances when they came which Larne could not do.
Inver Park was bouncing before, during and after their shoot-out victory against FC Ballkani in the previous round and a repeat of that will go a long way to helping the back-to-back Premiership champions become the first side from the north to make the group stages of a major Uefa competition.
Lynch gave debuts off the bench last week to new signings Jordan McEneff and Benji Magee and they could start here on their home debut.
Experienced midfielder Mark Randall returns from suspension but Aaron Donnelly misses out again after his red card in the post-match melee against Ballkani.
The Inver men have been busy in the transfer market since they last played with three new signings arriving this week.
Defender Sam Todd follows McEneff from Derry City on a loan until January, as does 19 year-old full back Josh Seary, who arrives temporarily from Preston North End.
The third arrival this week is Tottenham academy product George Marsh. The midfielder arrives having left AEL Limassol in Cyprus and the 25-year-old has had spells at Leyton Orient and AFC Wimbledon.
None of the three are eligible to play on Thursday but will be hoping to cheer their new side to history.
While Larne have had their start to the league season delayed to give them the best possible chance in Europe, Lincoln Red Imps’ new domestic season does not get underway until September 14, when they take on Derry City’s conquerors FCB Magpies.
Javi Munoz’s men will be looking to make the group stages of this competition for the second time, having done so in 2021/22. They are a very experienced squad and will be a tough nut to crack.
Shamrock Rovers, meanwhile, know they will be in a European group stage for the third time in their history and second time in four years but it almost certainly won’t be in the Europa League. This is after they lost the first leg of their play-off round 4-0 away to Greek outfit PAOK.
An own goal just before half-time from Daniel Cleary was followed up at the intimidating surroundings of the Toumba Stadium by goals from Taison, Giannis Konstantelias and Baba Rahman which puts the Greek champions on the cusp of the Europa League groups. However, a consolation for the Tallaght men is that the losers at this stage of qualifying will drop into the Conference League groups.
Stephen Bradley’s side have had a poor domestic campaign, sitting fifth 10 points behind Derry City and Shelbourne at the summit, and were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Galway United on Sunday.
PAOK, meanwhile, defeated Panetolikos 2-0 to start their Super League defence with back-to-back wins.
Hoops manager Stephen Bradley will be hoping for a spirited performance to carry into the league and that their European endeavours will act as a boost and not a distraction.