Larne forward Andy Ryan says there’s a “real buzz” ahead of Thursday night’s Europa Conference League game against League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers at Windsor Park.
Ryan etched himself into Larne history by hitting a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory over Lincoln Red Imps which saw the back-to-back Premiership winners become the first Irish League club to make the group or league stages of a European club competition.
“There’s been a real buzz around the place this week but we’ve tried to remain focused on the task in hand,” said the 30-year-old Scotsman.
“There’s been a lot of talk in the media about north v south so it’s added that extra bit of bite to the tie.”
Larne were beaten 3-0 by Molde in their Conference League opener last month but Ryan is adamant that Larne belong at this level.
“I thought for 55 to 65 minutes we kind of limited them so we can compete at this level and it’s important that we believe that.”
Larne boss Lynch knows it will be a tough test against a Rovers side which have won four straight League of Ireland titles and boast a rich European pedigree.
The Dublin team, who started with a 1-1 draw against APOEL, qualified for the Conference League group stage two seasons ago.
“We’re under no illusions of how a good a team Rovers are, how many good players that they have,” said Lynch.
“But we keep saying to the players that it’s not an insurmountable game, it a hugely difficult game against a top, top side but we also have to know that we’re also a top side – hopefully we can go and cause an upset.”
The match will be played at Windsor Park in Belfast as Larne’s home stadium Inver Park does now meet Uefa requirements and Lynch believes that will take a bit of the sting out of the game.
I would have loved to have brought them home [Inver Park]. A smaller stadium, bigger crowd, ideally a bit more of an intimidating atmosphere – it would always give you that bit more of an advantage.”
Rovers manager Stephen Bradley hopes his team’s superior European experience will be an advantage in south Belfast.
“We’ve had a lot of European games and that will help – there’s no getting away from that experience of things we’ve done well in the past and things we haven’t done well,” he said.
“It helps you grow and become stronger. We’ve a lot of good experience over the years so hopefully it will help us on Thursday night.”
Bradley’s side remain in the hunt for a fifth straight league title with just two games left in the domestic season but he says that will not be distraction against Larne.
“We’re well used to that, we’ve been here before. You learn and understand how to manage it better, the players become more robust and understand what it means to play on a Thursday, travel through the night on a plane and then play on a Sunday.
“That becomes quite normal – it’s a shock to the system at first but when you’ve done it for quite some time you become stronger for it.”