Larne boss Tiernan Lynch: Irish League teams lack belief on European stage, we should play with more confidence
Manager Tiernan Lynch says his Larne side must be sensible in their approach when they tackle their return meeting with Finnish outfit HJK Helsinki
Larne manager Tiernan Lynch watches on as Andy Ryan attempts to drive the Invermen forward during their first leg duel with HJK
Dylan Sloan and Tomás Cosgrove move in to press the ball during Larne's Champions League qualifier against HJK in Finland
Larne boss Tiernan Lynch believes Irish League clubs are finally doing themselves justice in Europe after four heartening displays in midweek.
The Irish League Champions were in receipt of the toughest proposition against crack Finnish outfit HJK.
The task in hand became even more difficult when Bojan Radulovic scored from the penalty spot after just three minutes of the Champions League tie in Helsinki on Wednesday.
However, Lynch’s team redoubled their efforts to stay in the game until half-time, then opened up on their hosts in the second period and had chances to equalise.
With Linfield winning and Glentoran and Crusaders both claiming creditable draws in the Europa Conference League, there are high hopes of success in the return legs this week.
For Larne to pull off a stunning comeback requires more self-belief, says Lynch, who feels that is a quality that has been missing all too often for our teams in Europe.
HJK are a bigger club than Larne but that did not show on the night in the Bolt Arena, and the astute manager feels all four Irish League sides should back themselves in their respective return fixtures.
“Believe it or not, it is something we spoke about after the game last week,” muses Lynch.
“I feel there is definitely a real lack of confidence within our football fraternity, possibly an inferiority complex in
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