Larne are two games away from potentially playing in the group stages of European football. It doesn't get any bigger than this. Lincoln Red Imps vs Larne to see who progresses to the group stages of the UEFA Conference League. No Irish League club has ever progressed past the qualifiers, leaving Larne on the brink of history - and another lucrative pay cheque. They have already bagged over one million euros for their European adventures this summer, but Tiernan Lynch will be hungry for more.
It won't be easy, however. Lincoln Red Imps have European experience, having stunned Celtic in the Champions League in 2016. A number of their players are also internationals and have played at Thursday's first-leg venue, the Estadio Algarve in Faro.
Disappointment has reigned for Irish Premiership clubs in Europe this summer, with Linfield, Crusaders and Cliftonville all falling at their respective first hurdles, but Larne have the chance to break new ground over the next week. The back-to-back Irish Premiership champions are in Conference League play-off action against Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar. Win the tie and Larne will become the first Irish League team to reach the group stage of a major European competition.
The Invermen's continental odyssey began in dispiriting fashion last month with a 7-0 aggregate defeat to Latvia's RFS in the Champions League first qualifying round. But having breathed new life into their campaign by beating Kosovon side Ballkani in the third round of the Conference League qualifiers, they are 180 minutes away from potentially blazing a trail for Irish League sides in Europe. Ahead of Thursday's opening leg at Estadio Algarve in Faro, Portugal, the Imps' 'home' ground for this tie, BBC Sport NI takes a closer look at the challenge facing Larne.
As 27-times champions of the Gibraltar Football League, Lincoln Red Imps are stalwarts in the qualifying rounds of Uefa's club competitions. While classed as a full-time professional team, several of their players have jobs outside of football, ranging from customs officers to policemen. They are most famous for beating Celtic in the 2016 Champions League qualifiers. In what was Brendan Rodgers' first game as Celtic boss, a Lee Casciaro goal was enough to give the Gibraltarians a famous 1-0 win. Celtic, of course, rebounded to win the second leg 3-0 at Parkhead, but the scoreline from the first leg unquestionably put the Red Imps on the map. Their encounter with Celtic's Old Firm rivals Rangers wasn't as memorable, however, as they lost 5-0 in 2020-21 Europa League qualifying.
This season, Lincoln beat Maltese side Hamrun Spartans in the Champions League first qualifying round before being comprehensively beaten 7-0 on aggregate by Azerbaijani side Qarabag. Their failure to overcome Dinamo Minsk in the Europa League third qualifying round saw them drop into the Conference League play-offs.
While Celtic remain their most high-profile scalp, the Red Imps' most notable achievement was reaching the group stage of the inaugural Conference League in 2021. Having seen off Riga in the play-off round, they became the first club from Gibraltar to reach the group stages in European club competition. They found the going tough in Group F, losing all six of their games to Copenhagen, PAOK and Slovan Bratislava and ending with a minus-15 goal difference, but it was still a monumental achievement for the club. They were unable to forge the same path in their next two attempts. Last season, they were knocked out of the Conference League third qualifying round by Ballkani, who Larne beat to reach this tie, after falling to Kazakh side Tobol in 2022.
While Larne's league games have been postponed to help them prepare for the tie, the Red Imps played on Sunday, losing the Pepe Reyes Cup - the curtain-raiser for the 2024-25 Gibraltar domestic season - on penalties to St Joseph's after a 1-1 draw. Notably, Red Imps boss Javi Munoz rested several players for that game with Thursday's encounter in mind. Larne are familiar with St Joseph's too, of course, having lost 1-0 on aggregate to them in the 2022 Conference League qualifiers. Their squad, which trains four times a week, boasts an interesting mix of youth and experience. More seasoned campaigners include Casciaro who, in addition to scoring against Celtic, netted the Gibraltar national team's first ever goal when they faced Scotland at Hampden Park in March 2015, six months after their first competitive match after being accepted as a full Uefa member in 2013. Now 42, Casciaro started last week's 2-1 win over Dinamo Minsk in the Europa League qualifiers. The Red Imps lost 3-2 on aggregate.
Like Casciaro, Gibraltar captain Roy Chipolina played in that win over Celtic in 2016 and is still in the squad at 41, while Spanish midfielder Nano is 39. There is also a Premier League connection in the squad. Ibrahim Ayew, who is expected to line up at right-back, is the older half-brother of Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew and Le Havre's Andre Ayew, previously of Swansea, West Ham and Nottingham Forest. Like Jordan and Andrew, Ibrahim has been capped by Ghana and while he was part of their 2010 World Cup squad, he did not feature in the Black Stars' run to the quarter-finals. Larne will be familiar with winger Julian Valarino, whose goal for St Joseph's knocked them out of the Conference League two years ago, while Tjay De Barr is another one for the Inver Reds to look out for. De Barr's quality was on show against Dinamo Minsk last week, his excellent half-volley from the edge of the area giving the Gibraltarians hope of winning the tie. The 24-year-old forward was previously with Wycombe Wanderers, making 33 appearances in League One after joining in 2021 before returning to the Red Imps at the start of this year.
Given their defeat by St Joseph's in 2022 and Derry City's loss to Bruno's Magpies earlier this summer, Larne will know not to underestimate a side from Gibraltar. While Larne boss Tiernan Lynch last week lost a key player with Lee Bonis' departure to Ado Den Haag, his hand has been strengthened significantly by the arrivals of Jordan McEneff and Benji Magee from Derry and Loughgall. With their 1-0 win over Ballkani in Pristina, Larne have already proved that they can win away from home in Europe this summer. The temperature in Faro is forecast to be 26C at kick-off, so the conditions will be challenging for the Irish Premiership side, but if they pull off a positive result on Thursday they will have the chance to make history in front of their own fans next week.
