RFS bagged three quickfire goals at the end of the first half at Inver Park as they breezed past Larne 7-0 on aggregate in their Champions League tie.
The Latvian Champions arrived at Inver Park with a 3-0 goal lead in the bag from the first leg and, despite a strong start from the Invermen, found the net with blistering ease in a seven minute spell before the break to earn a 4-0 win on the night.
Overall, there was little to cheer for Larne’s highest ever European home crowd on the night Champions League football came to town for the first time, with the impressive side from Riga adding a fourth on the night 11 minutes into the second half.
In the end, it was another night which provided a reminder of just how far Irish League clubs have to go as they look to reach the group stages of a major European competition.
While Larne came into the game knowing their chances of overturning the deficit was slim, it was still a big occasion for the town and their team responded with a fast start.
A long ball forward from goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson caught the visitors’ defence cold allowing Andy Ryan a clear run on goal. However, with an awkward bounce and an advancing goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa, the Scottish striker lofted the ball just over the crossbar from 20 yards out.
With their tails up, Larne continued to go in search of the opener two minutes later. This time livewire Conor McKendry cut inside from the left with a low drive which was caught comfortably by Ondoa.
Ondoa’s presence in goal, having amassed more than 50 caps for Cameroon, was an illustration of the task at hand for Lynch’s side.
It was an encouraging start for the home side who were aiming to make it a completely different tie to the week before when they struggled to get a foothold, however there were warning signs at the other end, none more so that when Janis Ikaunieks glanced a header wide after finding space inside the box.
Their hopes of a comeback were all but extinguished seven minutes from the break as RFS went on a goal spree which doubled their advantage on aggregate.
Brazilian forward Emerson picked up Darko Lemajic’s lay-off on the left flank before dribbling down the left flank and cutting inside to curl a sumptuous effort past Rohan Ferguson.
It was a goal which dampened the atmosphere inside Inver Park, created by just over 2,000 home fans.
Worse was to follow a minute from the half-time break as Mark Randall’s attempted pass in his own area went horribly wrong.
The former Arsenal youngster attempted to find Aaron Donnelly with a blind pass which was easily intercepted by Lemajic, who had the easy task of rolling it into a virtually unguarded goal.
Two minutes into stoppage time and goal number three of the night and six of the tie arrived with a quality strike.
Janis Ikaunieks – a man with 14 goals and 52 caps for Lativa to his name – added another to his personal collection when he picked the ball up 30 yards before driving into space and unleashing a fierce effort into the roof of the net from 25 yards.
It was a devastating seven minute spell which highlighted the gulf between the respective teams and killed off any hopes Larne would have had of picking up some much needed coefficient points on the night.
RFS added number four on the night 11 minutes and it’s another goal Larne won’t want to see back too often.
This time Ikaunieks turned provided with a low pass into the box for Ismael Diomande. The ball was initially missed by Diomande, as well as Cian Bolger and Rohan Ferguson, however Ivory Coast forward Diomande was quickest to react and roll the ball into an empty net.
Diomande was the seventh different goal scorer across the two legs for Michael Zoratti’s side as Larne struggled to deal with their multiple threats.
The remainder of the game was disrupted with a number of substitutes for both sides, with RFS knowing they were guaranteed a trip to Norway next week and a tie with Bodo/Glimt, while Larne now wait for Monday’s Conference League draw having been given a bye to the third round of the competition.
Larne: Ferguson, Cosgrove, S Graham (Altintop 77), Bolger, Donnelly, Ives, Gallagher (O’Neill 73), Randall (Randall 60), McKendry (Thomson 73), Lusty (Bonis 60), Ryan
Subs not used: D Graham, Brown, Glynn, Devlin
RFS: Ondoa, Balodis, Diomande, Ikaunieks (Kouadio 60), Emerson (Odisharia 60), Lemajic (Kigurs 60), Prenga, Mares (Ndjiki 73), Panic, Marhiev (Njie 46), Lipuscek
Subs not used: Steinbors, Vilbovs, Savalnieks , Zelenkovs, Cucurs, Savic, Zaleiko
Referee: Gustavo Correia (Portugal)