Larne pair Matty Lusty and Dylan Sloan put Santana under pressure in Faro
Larne were edged out 2-1 by Lincoln Red Imps in the Uefa Conference League play-off first leg at Estadio Algarve on Thursday.
Matty Lusty put the Irish League side in front on 15 minutes when VAR ruled the ball had crossed the line after his long-range strike crashed against the underside of the crossbar.
The hosts were soon level with Kike Gomez slotting in before Joe fired home the winner three minutes before the break.
Larne are aiming to become the first Irish League team to reach the group stage of a major European competition.
It was a slow opening quarter of an hour at the cavernous Faro stadium but the game burst into life thanks to Lusty's stunning shot.
The former Dungannon Swifts loanee scored the late winner in the first leg away to Ballkani and hit a piledriver that dipped over the head of Nauzet Santana in the home goal and struck the crossbar twice. There was an immediate appeal from the Larne players and a VAR check confirmed the ball had crossed the line.
Watch: Lincoln Red Imps v Larne highlights
That goal appeared to sting the Red Imps into life and Larne were let off the hook almost immediately when Rohan Ferguson saved well from Joe's header and Nano somehow struck the post from the rebound.
However, their reprieve would not last long as Nano turned provider with a beautiful back heel that split the Larne defence and allowed Gomez to slot past Ferguson on 22 minutes.
Larne's heads did not drop and Andy Ryan struck a free-kick just over the bar on 33 minutes. Despite this positivity, they went in behind at the break after some disappointing defending from a set-piece on 42 minutes.
Britto's delivery from a right-sided free-kick was swept home from six yards by Joe, who survived a VAR check for offside but was given far too much space to score.
The second half did not have the same spark of the first with Larne again dominating the ball and the Red Imps happy to sit back.
Ryan came close on 75 minutes when he latched onto a Lusty flick-on and rounded Santana only to roll his effort across the face of goal and inches wide.
Tiernan Lynch introduced new signings Jordan McEneff and Benji Magee but they could not find the equaliser so Larne will head back to Inver Park with a not-insurmountable one-goal deficit.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 14 |
| |
| 2 | Slovan Bratislava | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 10 |
|
| 3 | Olimpija | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 6 |
|
| 4 | KÍ | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 4 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 15 |
|
| 2 | Gent | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 13 |
|
| 3 | Zorya | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 7 |
|
| 4 | Breidablik | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 18 | -13 | 0 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktoria Plzeň | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 18 |
|
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
|
| 3 | Astana | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 4 |
|
| 4 | Ballkani | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 4 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club Brugge | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 16 |
|
| 2 | Bodø / Glimt | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 10 |
|
| 3 | Beşiktaş | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 4 |
|
| 4 | Lugano | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 4 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 13 |
| |
| 2 | Legia Warszawa | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
|
| 3 | AZ | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 6 |
|
| 4 | Zrinjski | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 4 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 12 |
| |
| 2 | Ferencváros | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
|
| 3 | Genk | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
|
| 4 | Čukarički | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 16 | -14 | 0 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PAOK | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 16 |
|
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 9 |
| |
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 6 |
| |
| 4 | HJK | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 17 | -10 | 2 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fenerbahçe | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 12 |
|
| 2 | Ludogorets | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
|
| 3 | Nordsjælland | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
|
| 4 | Spartak Trnava | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 1 |
|
Manager: Javi Muñoz
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Tiernan Lynch
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
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