CAERNARFON Town’s UEFA Conference League adventure is over after Legia Warsaw’s class shone through with five unanswered second half goals at Bangor’s Nantporth Stadium on Thursday evening.
The Canaries, who lost the first leg 6-0 the previous week, competed as equals in the first half and created the better chances but Polish giants Legia shifted through the gears after the break to run out comfortable winners.
As a consequence, the Cofis suffered a record equalling 11-0 aggregate but can hold their heads up high after an impressive debut European campaign which has seen them gain significant funds to set them up for the future.
Legia’s fans were banned from attending the match at Nantporth after UEFA placed sanctions on them following trouble at last season’s away match at Aston Villa but a fair number of them made the trip and still saw their side in action from an adjoining holiday park.
Richard Davies made one change to his side with Joe Faux replacing Phil Mooney whilst his counterpart Gonçalo Feio rang the changes with eight new faces.
Caernarfon, who beat Northern Irish side Crusaders after a thrilling penalty shootout in the first qualifying round, made a bright start with Faux finding the rapid Louis Lloyd but his lobbed effort cleared the bar.
The visitors had a goal ruled out for offside after Tomas Pekhart ran on to a Jordan Majchrzak through ball to slot the ball past Town keeper Stephen McMullan.
The Carling Oval side were seeing plenty of the ball against the full timers and went close again before the break when Faux’s speculative shot was cleared.
The interval came at a bad time for Town who were playing with composure and confidence but whatever words Feio told his players during the interval had the desired effect.
Legia came flying out of the blocks and broke the deadlock inside 10 seconds of the whistle when Town’s back line failed to track Bartosz Kapustka run into the area, the midfieder latching on to a lofted pass to plant a ball into the corner past McMullan.
The Canaries conceded another three minutes later when former Poland international and Legia’s skipper headed home Kapustka’s free kick from the right.
Tomáš Pekhart made it 3-0 on 54 minutes with a far post finish from close range following Ryoya Morishita’s low cross.
Caernarfon’s heads could have bowed at that point but they deserve credit for showing spirit and commitment to despite Legia giving them just breadcrumbs in terms of possession.
The Cofis dug deep and defended doggedly and kept the visitors at bay until the 72nd minute when substitute Jean-Pierre Nsame lobbed McMullan.
At the other end, substitute Matty Hill nearly pulled one back for Town when he ran on to Lloyd’s cross to the far post but failed to keep his effort on target.
Legia hit the post but made it 5-0 on the night in the closing stages when Sergio Barcia headed home Morishita’s corner.
Caernarfon’s misery was compounded when Ryan Sears was sent off after being handed a late second caution for handball.
Town manager Richard Davies said: “First half was outstanding, I thought we had the better chances and Louis Lloyd should have made it 1-0 for us.
“But then utter collapse in three minutes of the second half and that just killed us.
“I don’t think they had to work hard for their goals and that is disappointing because I know we’re better than that.
“It’s bitter sweet really, but I’m just so proud of the players and don’t want to go from here with any negativity.
“The boys have been outstanding, it’s been an unbelievable journey, one that will go down in our history.
“It’s been fantastic. We’ve had a taste of it now and we want more of it.”