UEFA Conference League qualifiers: Glens ‘deserve massive credit’ after defeat to RFS – Devine

Glentoran manager Declan Devine said his side will “take huge confidence” into the second leg of their Conference League first round qualifier against the RFS.

Martins Kigurs netted twice for the away side before debutant Geno Rossi broke the deadlock as Glens beat RFS 2-1 in the first leg at the Oval.

Devine’s side will now look to overcome a one-goal deficit when they travel to Latvia for the second leg on July 16.

“All in all, a positive night, nobody wants to lose, it’s just half-time,” Devine told BBC Sport NI.

“I was extremely proud of the players and their effort. Their two goals were a big part of luck in that. I thought we defended brilliantly and I thought we hit them on the counter-attack. I thought our game plan worked really well.

“We were strong, we needed to be strong. We asked them questions, especially towards the end of the half, in the second half. All the boys should take huge credit and confidence going into Latvia.”

It was a whirlwind day for Rossi, who announced he had joined the east Belfast club hours before the first leg.

The defender made an impressive start to his debut and put the Glens ahead in the tie after seven minutes.

“I think Geno coming in for his debut, having trained with the team once, and scoring on his debut and the performance he put in, deserves huge credit,” continued Devine.

“He’s the only one in our whole squad who’s probably got 90 minutes under their belt since the end of March.

“We have to recover well. We have to take confidence that they are holding on for dear life at the end, trying to kill time. We have huge travel support when we go to Riga. The game is on.”