Larne slumped to a fifth straight Conference League defeat and saw their slim hopes of qualification ended after being beaten 2-0 by Dinamo Minsk in Azerbaijan.

The Inver Reds are the first club from Northern Ireland to make it to the group stage of a European competition but have struggled to have an impact on the new-look competition, lying bottom of the table without a point.

Dinamo, banned by UEFA from playing European ties in their own country as a result of Belarus’ involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, broke the deadlock when Aleksei Gavrilovich converted a controversial penalty in the 67th minute.

Hopes of a Larne comeback were soon ended after Gleb Zherdev’s header squirmed past Rohan Ferguson, with captain Cian Bolger then sent off in stoppage time for a second caution.

Larne had made a positive start to the match, which was played behind closed doors at the Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium in Sumqayit on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Mark Randall played Andy Ryan in down the right side of the penalty area, but his angled shot was saved by Fedor Lapoukhov.

Belarusian champions Dinamo, who were also pointless from their opening four games, threatened when Daniil Kulikov shot wide after the pressure was kept on from a corner.

Larne went close just before the break when Joe Thomson sent a 20-yard effort just off target when the ball fell back to him following a free-kick.

The NIFL Premiership champions created another good opening early in the second half when Bolger headed down a corner for Ryan, whose acrobatic effort was saved by Lapoukhov.

As the hour mark approached, Larne keeper Ferguson was sent scrambling across goal as Dinamo substitute Trofim Melnichenko drilled a low, 20-yard effort just wide of the left-hand post.

Dinamo were awarded a penalty when Melnichenko went down holding his face after backing into Larne captain Bolger. Replays suggested the decision was rather harsh, but it was upheld by a VAR review.

Defender Gavrilovich sent Ferguson the wrong way from the spot.

Larne soon fell further behind following a swift counter-attack when full-back Vadim Pigas got away down the right and floated a cross to the back post, where Zherdev’s downward header bounced past Ferguson into the net.

In stoppage time Larne, who finish their European campaign against Gent at Windsor Park, were reduced to 10 men when Bolger was shown a second yellow card for grappling with Melnichenko as they fell to the ground.