Larne crashed to a 4-0 defeat this evening to Paços de Ferreira in Portugal and now face an uphill battle if they are to progress in the UEFA Conference League.
As might have been expected, Paços started off on the front foot and might have taken an early lead when, on three minutes, Denilson tested Rohan Ferguson with a stunning volley but the save was as good as the effort itself.
The Brazilian had another chance soon after, albeit finishing poorly, before Luis Carlos was thwarted by Dean Jarvis' timely intervention just as he was about to tap home.
However, after this early onslaught, Larne began to settle into the game and as the first progressed started to craft the occasional half chance and enjoy more possession.
They even had the ball in the net on 40 minutes when David McDaid headed into the net but this was rightfully ruled out after Cian Bolger had fouled the keeper in the build up.
However, right on the stroke of half-time, Larne were dealt a sucker punch when Denilson made the most of an error by Ferguson in dealing with a backpass to fire the ball into the net.
Unfortunately, three goals in the second half saw the home side end with a commanding lead going into next week's return at Inver Park.
On 70 minutes Denilson doubled his tally for the evening after dispossessing Mark Randall following another defensive error then, three minutes after that, Eustáquio extended Paços' lead with a strong finish into the bottom corner after doing well to control the ball on the edge of the box.
Then, right at the end, substitute Zé Uilton bagged a fourth after beating the offside trap to slot home from ten yards.
Paços de Ferreira: André Ferreira, Marco Baixinho, Maracás, Denílson, Delgado, Jorge Silva, Luíz Carlos, Lucas Silva, João Vigário, Eustáquio, Nuno Santos subs Jeimes, Antunes, Hélder Ferreira, Ibrahim, Zé Uilton, Matchoi Djaló, Adriano Castanheira, Rui Pires, Fernando Fonseca, Flávio Ramos, Pedro Martelo, Douglas Tanque
Larne: Ferguson, Balmer, Watson, Herron, Sule, Randall, McDaid, Bolger, Cosgrove, Hughes, Jarvis subs Argyrides, Kelly, Robinson, Hale, Scott, Lynch, Mitchell, Lusty
