LARNE AWAIT IN CONFERENCE LEAGUE PLAY-OFF
Yesterday’s defeat in Nicosia confirms Larne FC as our opponents in the UEFA Conference League play-offs, setting up a repeat of the same fixture from 2024.
The Imps narrowly missed out on progressing to the Europa League play-offs for a second consecutive year after a 1-0 defeat to Omonoia in Cyprus saw us lose the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
We now drop into the Conference League play-off round, with another opportunity to secure a place in the league phase of European competition.
Standing in our way are Northern Irish champions Larne FC, familiar opposition for the Imps after the two sides met at this stage of the competition in 2024.
However, the circumstances will be different this time around. Rather than playing both legs away from Gibraltar as we did two years ago, the first leg will take place at Europa Point Stadium on 20 August, before the Imps travel to Northern Ireland for the return leg on 27 August.
There will also be a familiar face in the Larne squad, with former Imps defender Dan Bent set to return to Gibraltar after leaving Lincoln to join the Northern Irish club last year.
Larne began their UEFA Champions League campaign with comfortable victories over Tre Fiori of San Marino in both legs before facing Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade in the second qualifying round.
They then dropped into the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, where they were drawn against Georgia’s Iberia 1999. A goalless draw in Northern Ireland was followed by a 2-1 defeat after extra time in Georgia, bringing their Europa League journey to an end.
The Imps will now look to use home advantage in the first leg as we continue our European campaign and fight for another chance to reach the league phase.