Molde 3-0 Larne: ‘We’re frustrated, but we can compete at this level’

After watching the opening stages of the game, to the outsider, it looked like Larne had settled quickly.

You see it so often when a team gets to a big stage, they get carried away and are on the back foot from the off.

But when asked if it had been hard to park the significance of the occasion and focus on the 90 minutes ahead, manager Lynch said: “To an element, the truth is yes.

“We talked before, and said we had to park everything.

“We had to concentrate on the next 95 or 96 minutes before we went out.

“There’s no excuses. I’m not saying if it hadn’t happened, we’d have won the game or anything like that.

“We get it, it’s good for the club, it’s good for the league, it’s good for football in Northern Ireland. We totally get that. We needed to focus.”

The performance, particularly in the first half, has only enhanced the belief that Larne could cause a surprise or two in the rest of their campaign.

“We have to believe that,” said Cosgrove.

“There’s no point in turning up to the game if you don’t think you can win or get a draw.

“Molde are a very good team, they are at this level every year. We have to learn from it and we’ll hopefully fix it.

“We were competitive. That’s what we wanted. They are probably one of the best teams we’ll face.

“I don’t think 3-0 reflected the game at all, and that’s the frustrating part for me.”