Larne manager Gary Haveron views Red Star Belgrade Champions League clash as a “free hit”
Larne manager Gary Haveron says his team’s Champions League second qualifying round match against Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade represents a “free hit” for his side.
The Inver Reds reached the second qualifying round for the first time following a 3-1 aggregate victory over San Marino side Tre Fiori.
Haveron’s team overcame an early deficit to secure a 2-1 win in the second leg at Inver Park. They will now host Red Star—who participated in the Champions League league phase as recently as the 2024-25 campaign—at Larne for the first leg on Tuesday, 21 July.
“Beyond proud we can bring a club to these shores and showcase our club. It’s a huge draw, they’re a historical and massive football club,” Haveron told BBC Sport NI.
“It’s seen as a free hit for us because people won’t expect too much, we’ll go and try be as competitive as we possibly can.
“We’ll pay them the respect but we’ll try impose ourselves on the game and see what we can do. We’re maybe not shoulder to shoulder with them but while we’re on the pitch we’ll try our best to get a result.”
‘The boys showed tremendous character’
Larne entered the second leg with a 1-0 lead thanks to a Matty Lusty goal in San Marino, but that advantage vanished when Pietro Mengucci scored for the visitors just 11 minutes into Tuesday’s match.
The Irish Premiership champions responded effectively, equalizing through a Matt Ridley header before halftime. Dan Bent then converted a penalty to confirm the comeback victory.
Tre Fiori finished the match with nine men after Simone Rea and Tommaso Bernardi received red cards. Haveron expressed relief that his side successfully navigated the tie to secure their first Champions League win.
“I wasn’t thrilled after 11 minutes when we conceded the goal, how hard we worked out there in San Marino to have a one goal lead and we give it away after 11 minutes wasn’t like us,” he added.
“We wanted a fast start and it was anything but that, but the boys showed tremendous character to drag themselves back into it.
“When we got back level before half-time I was extremely confident we’d lift our game second half and it worked out well as we went on and won the tie.”