Larne and Cliftonville ready for one final push

Tiernan Lynch is urging his Larne side for one last push as they bid to realise their dream of European football.
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The Inver Park outfit entertain Cliftonville this evening for a place in the Europa Conference League.

It will be the 48th game of a packed season for Lynch’s men with a £200,000 purse up for grabs, but he says they will embrace the challenge.

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“We had gone six months without a game and now we’ve gone the other way,” he said.

Larne boss Tiernan LynchLarne boss Tiernan Lynch
Larne boss Tiernan Lynch

“I think it’s important we embrace this last game and go and enjoy it.

“We know we are going to have to be at our best to get something out of the game as Cliftonville are a really good side.

“There’s nothing to lose at this stage, we have to go and get on the ball and do what we do best.”

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Lynch was pleased with the character shown by his side as they battled back against Glenavon to secure their place in the play-off final.

Cliftonville boss Paddy McLaughlinCliftonville boss Paddy McLaughlin
Cliftonville boss Paddy McLaughlin

“The players deserve great credit. They went 1-0 down and got themselves straight back into the game, and they kept going right to the very end,” he said.

“When we got the equaliser it settled us a bit, it was all about getting the result and thankfully we got that.

“In big games like this you don’t always get the football that you want to play.

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“We probably should have put our foot on it a little bit more than we did, but we will go again come Saturday.”

Cliftonville were pushed all the way against Crusaders before eventually coming out on top in a penalty shootout.

Paddy McLaughlin’s side have been pushed to the limit but the Reds boss heaped praise on his players for the way they have responded.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’ve never seen such an horrendous injury list at one Club in the same season, it’s barely believable,” McLaughlin told the club website.

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“But then you see players busting a gut to get back and help their team-mates out and give everything for the badge.

“That’s the attitude that has got us through some tough times this season and I know they’ll be fired up to go out and perform against Larne.

“It’s the last match of a really long campaign and we want to go out on a high.

“It’s such an important game for the Club and the prestige of playing in Europe for the players is massive.

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“We also understand the importance of the financial reward for the Club so there’ll be no problem getting everyone fired up for it.”

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