Larne captain Tomas Cosgrove believes the Invermen’s battling display in Norway on Thursday night helped put the club’s name on the map.
Molde won the Conference League tie at the Aker Stadion 3-0 thanks to second half goals from captain Magnus Wolff Eikrem, forward Ola Brynhildsen and sub Frederik Ihler.
But Cosgrove and his teammates took great pride in their performance on a famous night for the club as they kept the seasoned European side at bay for almost an hour.
Reflecting on the club’s first-ever league phase game, Cosgrove said: “We were competitive against Molde and they were always going to be one of our toughest opponents.
“We believe we can collect points at this level. Honestly, there’s no point in turning up if you don’t think you can win, or at least get a draw.
“Molde are one of the best teams in this tournament – they’re ranked 90 per cent to qualify and they made the knockouts last year – yet they didn’t destroy us. They deserved to win, but 3-0 didn’t reflect the game.
“I think that shows how well we’ve done. We didn’t want to embarrass ourselves and embarrass the League, and we didn’t do that.
“People criticise the Irish League but we’ve shown that we can compete with these teams.
“We gave them a hard game. If Molde didn’t know who Larne were before the game, they know who Larne are now.”
Skipper Cosgrove believes that Molde’s first goal was the pivotal moment in the historic match. The move for ex-Premier League midfielder Eikrem’s strike came from a free-kick that was harshly awarded against his fellow defender Shaun Want.
Cosgrove mused: “It’s very frustrating. We’re proud of the first 55 minutes. We battled really, really well and showed that we’re able to compete at this level.
“The thing that changed the game was the first goal, and I don’t think it was a free-kick. It was hard on Shaun.
“The goal rocked us. For the second goal, we got caught out trying to play. That’s thing about this level, you make a mistake and you’re punished. We crumbled a wee bit, if we’re being honest.
“We’re frustrated because we were right in the game but we didn’t create enough chances and then they showed their class.”
Larne’s second match of the league phase is an all-island derby with League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers at Windsor Park on October 24. Swiss side St Gallen visit Belfast a fortnight later before Larne travel to Slovenia to play Olimpija.
Then it’s off to Azerbaijan to play Belarusian outfit Dinamo Minsk before Larne’s league phase concludes against Belgian side Gent at Windsor Park.
While Cosgrove is hopeful that Larne can pick up points in the league phase, he confessed that Thursday night’s game was a step up in level from the Irish League.
“The Irish League is a much better product than it used to be, with teams trying to play good football, but that felt up a level. They kept the ball really well. If you lose the ball, you end up chasing after it for the next five minutes,” he continued.
“That puts you under pressure to retain the ball but towards the end we were tired and we were making mistakes in possession. Our concentration went and that’s when they stepped it up.”
Next on the agenda for the Irish League champions is a clash with Rodney McAree’s Dungannon Swifts at Inver Park on Sunday.
Cosgrove confessed that playing a League game just three days after returning from Norway presents the club with a unique challenge.
He explained: “It’s mentally tough. We’re playing Dungannon after the big glamour match in Europe, with all media and all the travelling.
“What we have to do is show Dungannon the utmost respect. We need to be mentally tuned in because we are playing a great team in fantastic form.
“The fear is we will struggle with fatigue. But we will do everything right to get the freshness back in the legs.”