When Larne face Red Star Belgrade in their Champions League qualifying tie this week, they tread a path walked before them by Portadown — an Irish League side that squared up to Europe's reigning champions 35 years ago and left with their heads held high.

Red Star Belgrade, fresh from lifting the European Cup in 1991, were drawn against Portadown in the first round of their title defence. The aggregate scoreline read 8-0, with a 4-0 defeat in the first leg and a 4-0 loss at Shamrock Park in the return — yet the Portadown players remember those nights with pride rather than embarrassment.

The moment Stewart almost fainted

Defender Alfie Stewart was part of the Portadown squad that had claimed back-to-back Irish League titles in 1990 and 1991. Speaking to BBC Sport NI, he recalled the precise moment he learned of the draw — through Ceefax, the television text service that was a household fixture at the time.