Boss Gary Haveron was beaming with pride afterwards, as his side prepare top host the Serbian giants in the next round
Larne booked a ‘free hit’ Champions League date with Red Star Belgrade after recovering from an awful start to see off Tre Fiori at Inver Park last night.
Boss Gary Haveron was beaming with pride afterwards, as his side prepare top host the Serbian giants in the next round.
“I’m beyond proud we can bring a club like that to these shores, to Northern Ireland and we can showcase what we’re about. It’s a huge draw, they’re a historical and massive football club,” Haveron told BBC Sport NI.
“It’s seen as a free hit for us because people won’t expect too much, we’ll go and try be as competitive as we possibly can.
“We’ll pay them the respect but we’ll try impose ourselves on the game and see what we can do. We’re maybe not shoulder to shoulder with them but while we’re on the pitch we’ll try our best to get a result.”
Their hard-earned advantage from the first leg in San Marino was wiped out as early as the 11th minute, with Rohan Ferguson at fault.
Tre Fiori captain Matteo Prandelli kept his cool to release Pietro Mengucci, whose low angled shot squirmed through the Larne keeper’s legs.
Gary Haveron’s men responded well to the setback, with Montel Gibson and Ronan Doherty denied before Matt Ridley showed them how it was done in the 25th minute.
After Conor McKendry was fouled on the right flank, Doherty whipped the resulting free-kick to the back post and centre-back Ridley rose to head home.
Soon afterwards, Matty Lusty came within inches of adding to his goal from the first leg when he cut in from the left and cracked a shot against the near post.
There was a real cut and thrust to the game as the visitors came back into it.
They thought they had scored a second when Romeo Bertani’s scrappy effort found the net, but it was disallowed for offside, while Nico Manara headed just wide from a Brando Sami corner on the stroke of half-time.
The pressure on the Larne defence continued after the break, with Prandelli going close with a left-footed shot.
Tension was building in the stands, but Larne received a major boost just after the hour mark when Tre Fiori defender Simone Rea dragged Lusty (inset) back and was shown a second yellow card.
Lusty was proving too hot to handle and another thrilling run from the striker was halted when Benedettini clipped his heels just inside the area.
Referee Sigurd Kringstad pointed to the spot and Dan Bent made no mistake, planting the ball high into the right side of the net.
Ahead on the night and with a man advantage, Larne began to display the nous and composure they have developed during this golden period in their history, making the ball do the work as Tre Fiori flagged.
The visitors squandered a golden opportunity to set up a grandstand finish when substitute Mohamed Ben Kacem somehow spooned the ball over from inside the six-yard box.
Their misery was complete when Tommaso Bernardi was shown two yellow cards in a matter of seconds, while Larne substitute Paul O’Neill had a goal chalked off after the referee spotted a foul on the keeper.
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