Larne are still seeking their first points in the Uefa Conference League as they finished with 10 men in a 1-0 defeat by Olimpija in Slovenia.
The Ljubljana hosts dominated with Larne keeper Rohan Ferguson making two excellent saves before Olimpija broke the deadlock on 67 minutes.
Ivan Durdov was brought on just seconds before meeting Raul Florucz’s corner and heading into the top corner.
Larne wasted two good openings in the second half as Dylan Sloan dragged wide before Matthew Lusty found himself in space but could only shot straight at Matevz Vidovsek.
Larne played the final eight minutes with 10 men after Sean Graham was sent-off for two yellow cards.
The Irish Premiership champions remain bottom of the 36-team group with their fourth defeat from four games.
Hosts on top
Olimpija started the game 22 places above the visitors as they chased a third straight Conference victory.
They bossed possession from the start but struggled to find a way past a resolute Larne defence.
Ahmet Muhamedbegovic headed on to the roof of the net from Jorge Silva’s cross before Larne created their only decent first-half opening.
Paul O’Neill, who was an isolated figure in attack, also sent a header off-target.
It developed into a dour struggled with the first effort on target coming after 39 minutes courtesy of Marcel Rutnik’s weak header.
Olimpija upped the tempo just before the break as Florucz broke through only to be denied as Ferguson raced out to save his close-range shot.
There was still time for David Sualeha to burst clear on the left and cut the ball back for Flourucz but the forward blazed well over.
More to follow….
