With the tie in the balance, Auda aim to advance at home

For the second day in a row the Latvian capital will host a European game as in the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round second leg FK Auda will host Northern Irish side Larne FC. Kick-off is set for 19:00 at the Skonto Stadium.

Under the guidance of head coach Jurģis Kalns, Auda returns home from the away leg in Northern Ireland with a goalless draw (0:0). That result leaves everything to play for, with tonight’s encounter set to decide the fate of the tie.

Both goalkeepers had their fair share of work in the first leg — Larne’s Roan Ferguson and Auda’s Roberts Ozols were kept on their toes throughout. The Northern Irish side tallied 10 shots, five of which were on target. Auda launched five attacks, managing two shots on goal.

“To progress, you need to play two matches — there’s no point in talking to the media at halftime,” Kalns said with a smile in the pre-match press-conference yesterday. “That’s why I hadn’t commented earlier. But honestly, the aftertaste from the first leg was very good. I compared our performance to how other teams have done in Northern Ireland — and the Irish isles in general — and I was pleasantly surprised with our possession stats. We held 55% possession, which is more than many high-level clubs have managed there.”

Kalns emphasized that the team approached the first leg with tactical maturity: “We deliberately chose not to rush forward headfirst. From previous European trips, we’ve learned that away matches have a very specific dynamic. So we’re satisfied with the 0:0. We had chances to score and could have conceded as well — I believe the draw was fair.”

The squad is fully fit heading into tonight’s showdown. “Everyone’s ready to fight. No injury concerns. Our squad and matchday list aren’t that long, so we have to be especially careful with ourselves. Even Jackson Kenio is good to go — he took a knock that caused muscle spasms for two days, but he’s fine now.”

Kalns also reflected on the broader approach to European football: “Home and away games in Europe are completely different beasts. You can’t always go all-out with high pressing for 90 minutes. In Europe, the result is everything. The goal is to make it to the next round — how you do it doesn’t matter.”

Historically, Auda’s best performance in European competition was last season when under manager Zoran Zeljkovic they reached the third qualifying round of the Conference League. Meanwhile, Kalns himself has led Valmiera FC in continental play, where he also guided the team to the third round of the same competition via the Champions Path in the club’s most successful campaign.

With the tie delicately poised, Auda will look to make home advantage count tonight and push for their place in the next round of UEFA’s third-tier tournament. The winner of this tie will probably face Kosovo Cup holders FC Prishtina.