Europa Conference League: Bala Town 0-1 Larne

David Edwards joined Bala after leaving Shrewsbury Town

Larne celebrated their European debut with a hard-fought win at Cymru Premier Bala Town.

The Irish Premiership side had David McDaid to thank after he latched onto an early defensive lapse by the hosts before lobbing goalkeeper Alex Ramsey.

Former Wales international David Edwards made his Lakesiders debut, but not even the 35-year-old midfielder's experience could prevent Bala's defeat.

The teams meet again on Thursday, 15 July (19:30 BST) in the second leg.

Bala can call on seven European campaigns as they look forward to the decisive encounter, and Edwards believes the Welsh side can offer a lot more in the second leg.

"It was a disappointing result definitely. I thought we did OK in parts but on the whole we've got so much more to give as a team, we all know that and to still be in the game at this point is a positive we can take over there," said the former Wolves midfielder.

"We saw nothing from Larne today which really made us think we're a level below them so we know we can go there with a lot of confidence, perform better and get that result."

Larne's confidence will though be boosted by their debut win, having qualified for Europe for the first time in their history following a 3-1 win over Cliftonville in the Irish Premiership play-off final in June.

Larne, who only achieved promotion to the Irish League's top flight in 2019, enjoyed a solid second season and for the first half appeared the side best placed to mount a challenge against eventual champions Linfield.