Bohemians face monumental task in Denmark after conceding late goal to Midtjylland
ON THE FLOOR: Senan Mullen of Bohemians in action against Sofus Johannsen of Midtjylland during the UEFA Conference League Third Qualifying Round first leg match at Tallaght Stadium. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Bohemians discovered that first impressions are indeed lasting.
Midtjylland came to play and, early on, it was shaping up to be a long night ahead for the Gypsies. But they dug deep, created three decent chances of their own and even had a penalty chalked off by VAR.
At 1-0 down, Bohemians appeared to be on track for a slender defeat that would give them something to cling to in Denmark next week.
But the Danes were merely lulling them into a false sense of security and Valdemar Andreasen’s sweet free-kick with 12 minutes to go was a killer blow. That two-goal cushion makes the task a monumental one now.
Manager Alan Reynolds noted in the build-up that his players would never have faced this calibre of player before. Midtjylland finished third in the Europa League league phase last season, winning six of their eight games, scalping both Celtic and Nottingham Forest along the way.
So their stranglehold in the opening 15 minutes came as no surprise to anyone. Andreasen had Paul Walters at full stretch to parry a fourth-minute effort to safety and by the 15th minute, the visitors had dropped their fifth corner into the Bohs box.
It was relentless pressure and ominous-looking. Bohemians had to find a way of weathering the storm.
Some of their defending was solid, with the onlooking Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson nodding his approval at how they stopped one move in particular.
But other strands of the rearguard action were far more chaotic with home fans in the East Stand breathing one too many collective sighs of relief.
And yet the longer Bohemians kept their opponents at bay by any means necessary, the more they grew in confidence. They got joy by going direct and had two decent chances to snatch the lead against the run of play.
First, Ross Tierney shot from just inside the box but couldn’t get a clean connection and the ball sailed wide. Later, Conor Parsons spun captain Rasmus Kristensen down the left and scampered into the box. He could have slipped in Douglas James-Taylor but decided to shoot, only for Iceland international Elias Rafn Olafsson to save.
It was a positive spell and a sign that Bohemians could cause some problems. But they still had enough of those in defence and Midtjylland’s 28th-minute opener was a gift. Sam Todd tried to back heel Sofus Johannesen’s low cross to safety but it fell to the feet of Dju Franculino and he curled a low shot home left-footed.
Parsons was full of endeavour and while James-Taylor threatened to get on the same page, not everything went his way and he cut a dejected figure nearing half-time after heading a Jordan Flores corner straight at goalkeeper Olafsson.
Still, it was enough for the Gypsies faithful to get behind as they applauded their team off at the break And Bohemians thought they had their breakthrough 13 minutes into the second-half. Denil Castilo - part of Ecuador’s World Cup squad - caught Tierney with a boot to the face and the Romanian referee awarded a penalty, only for VAR to chalk it off after a two-minute check.
It was in keeping with Bohemians’ night where there was plenty to admire about their have-a-go approach, but they couldn’t catch a break. And that was epitomised late on when Andreasen whipped that free-kick into Walters net after Dayle Rooney handled just outside the box.
Just as they had at the break, the home fans stood to applaud their team on the final whistle. To a man, the Bohemians players cut dejected figures having come up short, albeit against a team with a body of work in Europe that supports their claims of going deep.
Walters; Byrne, Hickey, Todd; Power, Devoy, Flores (McDonnell 78), Mullen (Rooney 72); Tierney (Vaughan 78), James-Taylor (Whelan 72), Parsons (Strods 72).
Olafsson; Johannesen (Osorio 45), Kristensen, Bech Junior; Billing (Watjen 57), Bravo (Cho 45), Castillo; Franculino (Iheanacho 89), Etim (Gabriel 45), Andreasen.
Rares Vidicon (Romania).
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