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Larne win 4-1 on penalties Lusty first leg goal cancelled out by Hamidi's penalty at Inver Park Ferguson saves two penalties in shootout Mark Strange Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) If Larne were to win tonight, their opposition in the fourth qualifying would be the losers of Thursday's tie between Lincoln Red Imps and Dinamo Minsk, with the Belarus club taking a 2-0 lead over the Gibraltar side going into their second leg. Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) While Larne have had to wait for their Irish Premiership campaign to get underway, Ballkani started their third consecutive season as Superliga champions on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Dukagjini thanks to a double from Brazilian forward Queven. That same scoreline would be enough to progress tonight and it is worth noting that, although they have failed to win any of their three European home games this summer, Ilir Daja's men have won both of their away ties against UE Santa Coloma and Hamrun Spartans. Give us a thumbs up if you think the Inver Men can do it! Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) Lauren Mc Cann BBC Sport NI It is a big night for Matty Lusty, who starts in place of Lee Bonis. Lusty scored 12 goal in 24 games last season whilst on loan at Dungannon Swifts before he suffered a broken collarbone. But he faces a huge task in trying to replace the goals of Bonis, who also forged a great relationship with fellow striker Andy Ryan in the back-to-back Gibson Cup wins. Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) Larne make two changes from last week's victory in Pristina with goal scorer Matty Lusty in for the departed Lee Bonis, while Joe Thomson starts in place of Mark Randall. The visitors also make a pair of changes with Geralb Smajli in for Gentrit Halili while Nigerian striker Sunday Adetunji returns in place of Bernard Karrica, who drops out of the squad completely. Larne: Ferguson, Ives, Donnelly, S. Graham, Bolger (C), Cosgrove, Sloan, Gallagher, Ryan, Lusty Subs: D. Graham, Want, Altintop, Mc Kendry, Randall, O'Neill, Brown, Smith, Devlin Ballkani: Kolici, Smajili, Potoku, Emerllahu, Adetunji, Kryeziu, Hamidi, Ismajlgeci, Thaqi, Jashanica, Queven Subs: Miftari, Ljuljanovic, Halili, Sinani, Engjell, Dulaj, Kodra, Giovanni, Abedini, Tolaj Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) These two sides met last year in the second qualfying round of the Uefa Conference League and Ballkani hammered Larne 7-1 on aggregate, which included a 4-1 victory at Solitude. Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) Larne will be without striker Lee Bonis this evening and beyond as he has joined Dutch second division side Ado Den Haag on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The former Portadown forward joined Larne for a reported Irish League transfer fee of £100, 000 in January 2022. The 24-year-old netted 58 goals and contributed 28 assists in 118 games, forging a great partnership with fellow forward Andy Ryan as Larne won back-to-back Irish Premiership titles. His last game was the 1-0 win in Kosovo where he assisted Matty Lusty's late winner and boss Tiernan Lynch hopes the young forward can act as Bonis' replacement. "We wish Lee the very best and hope he goes on to have a fantastic career at the next level but it now opens the door for Matty [Lusty] and for Matty to go in and prove that he can be that replacement. " Lee Bonis signs for Ado Den Haag Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) Larne boss Tiernan Lynch says he and his players will concentrate on the job in hand as they take a 1-0 lead into tonight's game. The Inver Park outfit produced a heroic defensive display in Kovoso as Matty Lusty's late goal earned a dramatic victory. If Larne can complete victory in the tie at Inver Park, it will put them one round away from clinching a prized place in the group stages of the competition which last year guaranteed clubs a minimum £3. 5m. However, Larne manager Lynch told BBC Sport Northern Ireland: "If you start looking that far ahead, you’ll forget what’s in front of you. "The only thing we’re concentrating on now is Ballkani. "It’s a hugely difficult game but we have to take confidence from last week. "The biggest thing for all our Irish League clubs, us included, is believing we can play at this level and that we should belong at this level. " Ballkani 0-1 Larne Larne sit well placed to progress from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League after a heroic last-gasp 1-0 win away to Kosovan champions FC Ballkani in the first leg of their tie in Pristina. Matty Lusty was the goalscoring hero for last season's Irish Premiership champions as he bundled the ball in from five yards after Lee Bonis flicked on Levi Ives' free-kick from the right in the final minute. Tiernan Lynch's charges defended resolutely throughout, with goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson making some fine saves, but also created chances of their own. Read more here Lee Bonis celebrates Larne's victory over Ballkani in the first leg Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) A reminder of what happened last week in Kosovo. .. Larne v Ballkani (20: 00 BST) Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary of tonight's Uefa Conference League third qualifying round second leg between Larne and Ballkani at Inver Park. Larne hold a slender lead over the Kosovan champions after an excellent display in the first leg and will have hopes of progressing to the fourth qualifying round. Thanks for joining us - enjoy! Larne will now face Lincoln Red Imps in the next round Larne are through to the Uefa Conference League play-off round after they beat Kosovan side Ballkani 4-1 on penalties at Inver Park. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Ballkani levelled the tie on the stroke of half time through Walid Hamidi's penalty. Hamidi coolly dispatched his spot kick after he was fouled by Larne captain Cian Bolger. Both sides had chances in normal time and extra-time with Rohan Ferguson and Enea Kolici forced into a number of saves. Ferguson was then the hero in the shootout, saving two penalties from Hamidi and Ajazaj Engjell. As Larne celebrated, tempers flared with players and backroom staff from both clubs getting involved in unsavoury scenes before order was restored. Tiernan Lynch's side will now face Lincoln Red Imps in the next round after the Gibraltar side lost their Europa League tie 3-2 on aggregate against Dinamo Minsk on Thursday night. Qualification for the play-off round has already secured the Irish Premiership champions in the region of in the region of £850, 000 which would all in like likelihood be tripled if they progress to the group stage of the competition. Walid Hamidi opened the scoring from the penalty spot Larne had some early chances to extend their narrow aggregate lead with the first coming via Chris Gallagher on 12 minutes. However, the midfielder blazed over from the edge of the box following good build-up from Joe Thomson and Andy Ryan. Thomson then almost pulled a stunning strike out of the bag three minutes later when he let Levi Ives' throw drift across his body before lashing a looping volley just wide of Kolici's near post. It was then Ryan's turn on 22 minutes for an effort which forced the Ballkani stopper into a smart save. The game was tilted in Larne's direction as Ballkani were struggling to gain a foothold, but they began to edge their way back into the game without really troubling Rohan Ferguson. However, just as the fourth official indicated the amount of added time, Cian Bolger swiped at a clearance and took down Hamidi and the Algerian smashed home the spot kick to level the tie on aggregate. Ferguson was the hero in the shootout In the second half, it was end-to-end with chances for both teams. Kolici pulled off a stunning save from a deflected Matty Lusty effort that seemed destined for the bottom corner while, at the other end, a shot from Marsel Ismajlgeci whistled just wide from a narrow angle. Sunday Adetunji looked dangerous all night and was denied by a superb sliding challenge from Thomson before stinging the palms of Ferguson on 70 minutes. Extra-time started with two immediate chances at either end, first Bleart Tolaj flashed wide before Paul O'Neill's looping header landed on the roof of the net. Neither team could force a dramatic winner and we headed to penalties where Larne scored all four of their spot kicks with Thomson, Mark Randall, Ryan and Gallagher all netting. Ferguson made two stunning saves from Hamidi and Engjell to send Larne into the Conference League play-offs although the unnecessary scenes afterwards - which appeared to be instigated by the frustrated Kosovans - couldn't be glossed over. Last Updated 29th May 2024 at 22: 41 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Tiernan Lynch Manager: Ilir Daja UEFA Conference League All competitions All competitions All competitions © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.