Larne Tekuk Tre Fiori Lewat Gol Tunggal Matty Lusty

Klub juara Liga Irlandia Utara, Larne, sukses menaklukkan tuan rumah Tre Fiori dengan skor 1-0 dalam laga leg pertama babak kualifikasi pertama Liga Champions di Stadion San Marino.

Gol tunggal kemenangan tim tamu dicetak oleh penyerang berusia 22 tahun, Matty Lusty, tepat sebelum turun minum setelah memanfaatkan umpan sundulan dari Sam McClelland.

Hasil ini menjadi kemenangan perdana Larne dalam sejarah keikutsertaan mereka di ajang Liga Champions dan memberi modal penting menjelang leg kedua di Inver Park pada Selasa, 14 Juli 2026.

Manajer Larne, Gary Haveron, memberikan apresiasi besar kepada anak asuhnya yang tampil impresif dan disiplin sepanjang pertandingan meskipun sempat kehilangan Sam McClelland akibat cedera di awal laga.

"The kid (Lusty) is a class act," kata Gary Haveron, Manajer Larne. "He's so sharp, so agile, he can change direction on a sixpence, he's a real threat in the game."

Haveron juga memuji performa keseluruhan timnya namun merasa kecewa dengan cedera yang dialami McClelland akibat terinjak pemain lawan.

"I'm bitterly disappointed for Sam McClelland," ujar Gary Haveron, Manajer Larne. "Early in the game he has got stamped on, the lad has stamped down the back of his Achilles, it's not his Achilles injury, it's a cut, but if you seen the blood pouring out of it, the cut is a deep one."

McClelland tetap berjuang memberikan asis sebelum akhirnya digantikan oleh Magee pada awal babak kedua karena luka dalam di bagian tumit tersebut.

"I'm really disappointed for him, he battled onto half-time...how he stayed out there with the cut he has on the back of his heel is unbelievable," tutur Gary Haveron, Manajer Larne. "It shows you the type of character he is to stay out there and he kept battling to get us an assist for the goal."

Larne sejatinya sempat mencetak gol kedua melalui Lusty pada menit ke-77, namun dianulir oleh wasit Artem Gasparyan asal Armenia setelah peninjauan VAR.

"It's a really proud moment for the club to get a win in the Champions League, the premier competition in club football," tambah Gary Haveron, Manajer Larne. "To come here and get a result away from home, you have to be pleased."

Meskipun menang, Haveron menilai pasukannya seharusnya bisa mencetak lebih banyak gol mengingat dominasi permainan mereka di area penalti lawan.

"I'm probably disappointed if truth be told, we could have been more convincing than the 1-0 win suggests," ungkap Gary Haveron, Manajer Larne. "For the dominance, for the amount of box entries we had, we really should have came away with a couple more goals."

Haveron mengkritik keputusan pembatalan gol kedua Lusty yang dinilainya terlalu lemah, tetapi tetap bersyukur atas hasil akhir pertandingan.

"I'm disappointed with the one that gets chalked off, it looks very soft to me, but we came here to get a result to take back to Inver Park on Tuesday night and that's what we've done," pungkas Gary Haveron, Manajer Larne.

Pemenang dari agregat laga ini dijadwalkan akan melaju ke babak kualifikasi kedua untuk berhadapan dengan mantan juara Eropa, Red Star Belgrade.