Glentoran host Rīgas FS at the BetMcLean Oval on 9 July 2026 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round tie, the Northern Irish side's first European outing in two years. RFS arrive in mid season form as dominant leaders of the Latvian Virslīga with 56 points from 22 matches and a goal difference of +38, so the favouritism is not subtle. Glentoran's best realistic hope is avoiding an early goal and keeping Lemajić quiet, because an early concession would almost certainly kill the tie as a contest, leaving them needing two.
Neither Declan Devine nor his counterpart Viktors Morozs has faced the other before and the clubs have no prior European history, making this a blank tactical slate. Devine has been in charge at Glentoran since April 2024, while Morozs has managed RFS for several seasons.
Glentoran's pre season produced one win from five matches, with heavy rotation leaving the squad short on competitive sharpness, whereas RFS are unbeaten in their last four domestic outings and Darko Lemajić has scored seven of his eleven league goals in the past six matches.
Glentoran are without teenage prospect Mason Ayre, who has joined Nottingham Forest. Devine is expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1 with Andrew Mills in goal, a back four of Ryan Cooney, Daniel Larmour, Marcus Kane and James Singleton and a central midfield pairing of Joseph Thomson and Aaron McEneff, with Patrick Hoban leading the line after a 31 goal season. RFS have no reported injuries or suspensions and are expected to name an unchanged side. Morozs typically deploys a 3-4-1-2 with Jevgenijs Nerugals behind defenders Aleksandar Filipovic, Herdi Prenga and Ziga Lipuscek, while Roberts Savalnieks, Modou Saidy, Stefan Panic and Dmitrijs Zelenkovs fill the midfield slots and Janis Ikaunieks links play to forwards Ismael Diomande and Alain Kouadio.
Glentoran's best chance tactically is Thomson and McEneff sitting deep to clog the central lanes and force RFS wide, reducing the service into Diomande and Kouadio. Kane will need to organise the back four against those two forwards, who are likely to be fed by Savalnieks and Zelenkovs pushing into the channels behind Cooney and Singleton, while Thomson and McEneff will need to track Panic and Saidy's runs into the box rather than pushing forward, which leaves Glentoran with little counter attacking threat. Hoban's physicality at corners is probably the one moment Glentoran can genuinely back themselves to create danger.
RFS's squad depth means their legs in the final twenty minutes, when Glentoran's pre season rust may show, could be where this tie is settled. RFS have been playing competitive football for months, Glentoran have not. Any rain nudging things toward Glentoran's more direct style is possible but far from guaranteed.
If Kane marshals the back four well and Hoban wins one set piece, Glentoran can make the evening uncomfortable but a 1-1 draw feels the most likely outcome given that RFS have Lemajić and Kouadio to find a way through on the counter. A 1-1 away draw keeps their qualification hopes intact and the Riga return offers RFS the comfort of their home crowd with months of mid season sharpness already in their legs.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
