​Glentoran manager Declan Devine insisted his side would carry “huge confidence” into the second leg of their Conference League first round qualifier against RFS. After a tightly contested 2-1 loss at the Oval, the Glens produced a spirited display in which debutant Zeno Rossi opened the scoring before Martins Kigurs struck twice for the visitors. Devine’s team now faces a real test to overturn the one-goal aggregate deficit when they travel to Latvia for the second leg on July 16.
“All in all, a positive night; nobody wants to lose, it’s only half-time,” Devine told BBC Sport NI. “I was super proud of the players and the effort they’ve put in. Their two goals are huge slices of good luck in it. I thought we defended brilliantly and I thought we hit them on the counter-attack. I thought our game plan worked really well.” He added that the Glens were solid when needed, and that they posed questions of their opponents, particularly late in the first half and into the second. “All the boys should take huge credit and confidence going into Latvia.”
It was a whirlwind 24 hours for Rossi, who had only joined the east Belfast club moments before the first leg was played. The defender marked his competitive bow with an impactful performance, giving Glentoran the lead after seven minutes. “I think Zeno coming in for his debut, having trained with the team once, and scoring on his debut and putting on the performance that he put on, deserves huge credit,” Devine said. “He was the only one in our whole squad that has 90 minutes under their belts since probably the end of March.”
Devine emphasised the importance of recovery and confidence as the journey continues. “We’ve got to recover well. We’ve got to take confidence that they’re holding on for dear life at the end, trying to kill time. We have a huge travelling support when we’re going to Riga. Game on.” The Glens will aim to translate their improvements from the first leg into a successful performance in Riga to keep their European ambitions alive in the Competition League qualifiers.