Champions League qualification: Havron ‘proud’ of Larne effort in Red Star defeat

Larne manager Gary Havron said he was “proud” of his players’ efforts in the Champions League second qualifying round, 4-0 first-leg loss to Red Star Belgrade.

Inver Reds trailed at the break after Bruno Duarte converted from the spot, but the Serbian club would add three more in the second period as Duarte grabbed a second, while Vasilije Kostov and Muhammad Cham found the net for everyone but ended the tie.

Havron felt his team could take a lot from the experience but admitted they were up against a “different level” of opposition.

“I’m extremely proud,” Havron told BBC Sport NI.

“We let them down for long periods in the first half and were a bit disappointed to come in one down because of a soft penalty.

“I thought the shape was really good, the discipline was really good and in the second half we rose to the occasion and chased the game a little bit more. When you put a quality team at the back, they can hit you and they did that in a 10-minute spell when they scored two goals and tied it.

“It’s a learning opportunity for us and we can take a lot as a club, coaching staff and players. The quality is at a different level and some of the finishes were ridiculous.”

Larne travel to Belgrade for the second leg next Wednesday (19:00 BST) and while Havron admits the Champions League is “one step away”, he is hopeful they can progress to the Europa or perhaps the Conference League qualifiers.

“Our ceiling was not the Champions League,” he insisted.

“The win in the first game (against Tre Fiori) gave us a chance in the Europa League, gave us a chance in the Conference League which gives us a level of football that we can be competitive at.

“We’ve done the group stage before (2024/25) but you need to be lucky with the draw and it gives us a chance to be competitive.

“When you get to this stage of the Champions League, it’s a long way away, but it’s about the occasion, the experience and the performance, so next week will stand us up for the rest of the season.”