Bala Town 0-1 Larne: McDaid chip leaves Lakesiders with work to do
Bala Town fell to a 1-0 loss in their first-leg UEFA European Conference League tie against Northern Irish outfit Larne due to a defensive lapse in concentration early on.
The tie saw the return of fans for Colin Caton’s side but they were unable to cheer on a goal, leaving Bala to travel to Inver Park one-goal down.
McDaid took the lead for the visitors 90 seconds into the game as he pounced on a defensive mistake by Tony Stephens before coolly lofting a bouncing ball over Alex Ramsay.
Kieran Smith fired a low-effort at goal, but Rohan Ferguson saved well to his right-hand side.
Bala Town had a penalty shout when debutant Paul Rutherford’s cross seemed to strike Jeff Hughes’ arm inside the area.
A loose ball fell kindly to Larne midfielder Andrew Mitchell, but his attempt flew high over the crossbar.
Lee Lynch found space on his flank and played a ball across the box, but David Edwards reacted firstly to clear.
McDaid continued to cause problems to the Bala Town defence, and his ball across goal forced Oliver Shannon to put the ball behind for a corner.
Edwards struck the bar after being played through by Kieran Smith, but the goal wouldn’t have stood as the linesman flagged for offside.
A duo of chances fell to Chris Venables early into the second half. The first saw him fire a shot which was saved comfortably by Ferguson, and the second saw the goalkeeper spill the ball before the Larne defenders cleared for safety.
Larne’s Dean Jarvis put a golden opportunity over the crossbar. McDaid put an inch-perfect ball into the six-yard box with the outside of his boot, but Jarvis’ effort was too high.
The ball fell kindly to Callum Woods at the far post, but with numerous Larne defenders in between him and the goal, he snatched at the chance.
The Lakesiders had their second penalty claim when Will Evans’ volley was blocked by Cian Bolger. Bala fans and players were shouting for a penalty, but the referee claimed it didn’t warrant a penalty for handball.
Conor McKendry came close to doubling the lead with an in-swinging corner, but Alex Ramsay clawed the ball over the crossbar.
Substitute Ronan Hale’s effort came agonisingly close to the near post following a mazy counter-attacking run.
Bala Town: Alex Ramsay, Calum Woods (Sean Smith 73’), Anthony Stephens, Kieran Smith (Nathan Peate 90+2), David Edwards, Lassana Mendes (Anthony Kay 78’), Will Evans (Bradley Buaress 78’), Oliver Shannon, Paul Rutherford, Chris Venables.
Larne: Rohan Ferguson, Kofi Balmer (Albert Watson 75’), Fuad Sule, Mark Randall (Conor McKendry 61’), David McDaid (Ronan Hale 75’), Lee Lynch, Andrew Mitchell, Cian Bolger, Tomas Cosgrove, Jeff Hughes (C), Dean Jarvis.
Goals: David McDaid (2’)
Yellow Cards: Kofi Balmer (21’), Mark Randall (55’), Jeff Hughes (72’), Conor McKendry (76’), Lee Lynch (78’), Rohan Ferguson (83’)
