Larne suffers 1-0 defeat to Olimpija, finishes with ten men in Conference League match

Larne continues its search for its initial points in the UEFA Conference League, having concluded their match in Slovenia with ten players in a 1-0 loss to Olimpija. The host team from Ljubljana controlled the game, and Larne’s goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson executed two excellent saves before Olimpija secured the opening goal in the 67th minute. Ivan Durdov, introduced as a substitute moments earlier, met Raul Florucz’s inswinging corner with a header that found the top corner of the net. Larne squandered two promising chances in the second half; Dylan Sloan’s shot went wide, and Matthew Lusty, despite finding space, directed his attempt straight at Matevz Vidovsek. The Irish Premiership champions played the final eight minutes of the match with ten men after Sean Graham was sent off for accumulating two yellow cards. This fourth defeat in as many games leaves them at the bottom of the 36-team group. Olimpija, starting the game 22 places above their visitors, was aiming for their third consecutive Conference League victory. They dominated possession from the start but struggled to breach Larne’s resilient defense. Ahmet Muhamedbegovic headed Jorge Silva’s cross onto the roof of the net before the visitors created their only notable first-half opportunity. Paul O’Neill, an isolated figure in attack, also sent a header off target. The match evolved into a challenging contest, with the first shot on target recorded after 39 minutes from Marcel Ratnik’s weak header. Olimpija increased their intensity just before the break as Florucz broke through, only to be denied by Ferguson, who raced out to save his close-range shot. Before halftime, David Sualeha burst clear on the left and cut the ball back for Florucz, but the forward’s shot went significantly over the bar. Following the restart, Muhamedbegovic’s long-range shot went wide, and Ferguson once again came to his team’s rescue. Diogo Pinto’s precise cross found Marko Brest at the back post, but his header was kept out by an alert Ferguson. Larne began to pose a threat on the counter-attack, with Mark Randall sliding Sloan through, but his shot from the edge of the box was drilled wide. Olimpija finally broke the deadlock midway through the second half when substitute Durdov rose highest to powerfully head the ball high into the net. Sualehe then blasted just wide as the hosts sought a second goal, and their hopes of victory were further boosted by Graham’s dismissal. However, even with ten men, Larne created the next opportunity when an unmarked Lusty found himself with only Vidovsek to beat but could only find the arms of the grateful goalkeeper. This result marked another disappointing outcome for the Irish side, who were under the charge of assistant manager Gary Haveron. New boss Nathan Rooney is scheduled to begin his tenure as Tiernan Lynch’s replacement in the upcoming match against Cliftonville on Sunday.