![football](/media/15784/report20240710_rfslar2.jpg)
Larne kicked off their European campaign with a three-goal Champions League first qualifying round defeat to Latvian opponents FC RFS in Riga.
Tiernan Lynch's side trailed at the break to a goal scored just the half-hour mark, before conceding two more early in the second half.
RFS had the ball in the net after a quarter-of-an-hour, but Janis Ikaunieks' finish was ruled out offside early in the move following a VAR review.
However, the home side did register the opening goal on 29 minutes after Ikaunieks cut the ball back for Martins Kigurs to sweep past keeper Rohan Ferguson.
RFS doubled their advantage four minutes after the interval, with Daniels Balodis meeting a Petr Mares free-kick at the back post to nod home.
Then, nine minutes after that, Stefan Panic added a third with a superbly executed free-kick from the edge of the area.
The sides meet again next Wednesday (17th July) at Inver Park, kick-off 8pm.
FC RFS: Ondoa, Balodis, Prenga, Lipuscek, Markhiev, Panic, Kigurs, Mares, Ikaunieks, Emerson, Diomande subs Steinbors, Vilkovs, Cucurs, Kouadio, Lemajic, Ndjiki, Njie, Odisharia, Savic, Zaleiko
Larne: Ferguson, Cosgrove, Bolger, Altintop, Ives, Donnelly, Gallagher, Sloan, McKendry, Ryan, Bonis subs D. Graham, Thomson, O'Neill, S. Graham, Glynn, Brown, Lusty, Devlin