Inver Park hosted an intriguing Europa League third qualifying round encounter between Larne and FC Iberia 1999 on Tuesday evening. The Inver Reds pushed forward from the first whistle but struggled to find the back of the net, despite creating several half-chances for Matthew Lusty and Ronan Doherty.
The match saw a significant moment of controversy when Vahid Selimovic appeared to score for FC Iberia 1999 on 17 minutes. However, the goal was disallowed due to offside, much to the relief of the home fans. The Inver Reds continued their dominance in possession but were denied by a smart save from Giorgi Makaridze when he collected Sean Graham's effort after a clever counter-attack from Lusty.
As the second half progressed, Larne pushed hard for an opening goal. Tomas Cosgrove’s shot from the back post forced another good save from Makaridze, while Rohan Ferguson denied Nikoloz Dadiani’s free-kick at the other end. Despite their efforts, the home side could not find a way past the Georgian team's resolute defense and had to settle for a goalless draw.
The Inver Reds now travel to Tbilisi for the winner-takes-all second leg on Tuesday, 11 August. The victor of this tie will face Scottish Premiership side Rangers or Jagellonia Bialystock of Poland in the next round.
