'It blows you away' - Gary Haveron thankful for backing of Larne supporters ahead of Champions League trip
Gary Haveron admits he continues to be blown away by the lengths Larne fans go to in order to support their team with around 100 expected in Riga for Wednesday’s Champions League first round qualifier against RFS.
For the second consecutive season, the Inver Reds are competing in Europe’s premier competition after successfully retaining their Premiership title last term and they’ve been pitted against Latvia’s top side, who defeated Linfield in UEFA Conference League qualifying back in 2022.
The Inver Reds faithful will make an almost 2,000km trip to the LNK Sporta Parks – 12 months on from visiting Finland and Kosovo – and will hope their team can bring a positive result back to Northern Ireland with the reverse leg set for next Wednesday.
Tiernan Lynch’s side prepared by winning a maiden Charity Shield after beating Cliftonville 2-1 on Friday evening and first team coach Haveron says every member of Larne’s squad and staff appreciate the support.
"It blows you away honestly,” he told the club’s media channel. “When you look up into the stands and see people that you know and you know the effort it takes in order to get there...it's not always as straightforward as it is for us flying into Riga and going to play a game - for them it's planes, trains and automobiles and doing it on the cheapest way possible to make it affordable.
"The effort they've gone to is first class. When we went on the boat to Stranraer (for a pre-season friendly) nearly 300 Larne fans were there and you can go around talking to every one of them because you know them from the town.
"It's special. You feel that connection with them. There may only be 100 of them but they certainly make a lot of noise because every one of them comes in fine voice and sings their loudest to get behind the boys.
"Every one of them is much appreciated and we'll do our best to make sure they know how much we appreciate the effort they are going to."
Larne’s striker partnership of Lee Bonis and Andy Ryan, which has been the Irish League’s most deadly over the past 18 months, are already showing signs of hitting similar heights once again after both scored in Friday’s triumph.
"Goalscorers love to score goals and that's what their bread and butter is,” added Haveron. “They're never happy unless the ball is in the back of the net and they both chipped in with goals and took them really well."