Valiant Bohs bow out with consolation brace as Midtjylland progress  

Alan Reynolds and his men end their European campaign with a slight sense of “what if?” in regard to close calls which never fell in their favour

FINAL BOW: Bohemians players Dayle Rooney, left, and Niall Morahan react after the UEFA Conference League Third Qualifying Round first leg match between Midtjylland and Bohemians at Arena Herning in Herning, Denmark. Pic: Lars Ronborg/Sportsfile

FC Midtjylland 3 Bohemians 2 (FC Midtjylland win 5-2 on aggregate) 

Bohs saw their European run come to an end with a spirited performance against European group stage regulars FC Midtjylland.

Dju Franculino’s first-half penalty - very much against the run of play - and second-half finishes from Sofus Johannesen and Stanley Iheanacho broke Bohs hearts before Zane Myers and Dayle Rooney grabbed what turned out to be consolations as they travel back to Dublin with a slight sense of “what if?” in regard to close calls which never fell in their favour.

At a baking MCH Arena in Herning, Bohs boss Alan Reynolds kept faith with 10 of the 11 that started a week ago in a battling performance in Tallaght and saw his charges come flying out of the traps.

The fearless visitors thought they had halved the first-leg deficit after just six minutes when Adam McDonnell latched on to a perfectly weighted Ross Tierney through ball and showed tremendous composure to cut back on his right and slot the ball home - only to see the flag raised for the narrowest of offsides.

Moments later, The Gypsies had the ball in the back of the net yet again when Pat Hickey towered above everyone in a crowded area to head past Elias Rafn Olafsson, only to see the Italian official bafflingly blow his whistle for what was a perceived foul on the Icelandic stopper by Tierney.

The blistering start was brought to an abrupt halt when Guesung Cho latched on to a long ball over the top, getting in between Cian Byrne and Paul Walters. The American was clumsy in coming for the ball, eventually bringing down the South Korean striker.

And just like he did in South Dublin last week, Franculino opened the scoring and made no mistake from the penalty spot to all but kill off the tie.

Johannesen ensured there was no chance of a miraculous comeback netting the goal his man-of-the-match performance deserved just a couple of minutes after the break.

Having made a quadruple substitution, the visitors gave their raucous travelling support something to cheer about when Zane Myers burst forward from midfield and saw his deflected strike fly past Olafsson.

But chasing what would have been an equalizer Bohs were undone on the break as Iheanacho tapped home from an unselfish Dario Osoria square ball.

There was still time for Dayle Rooney to head home brilliantly late on, but despite having the ball in the back of the net five times over the two legs, Bohs bowed out with their heads held high.

FC Midtjylland: Rafn Olafsson; Kristensen, Erlic, Bech; Ndiaye (Osorio, 41’), Johannesen, Bravo, Andreasen, Castillo (Billing, 46’); Franculino (Etim, 58’), Cho (Iheanacho, 58’) Subs not used: Bakker, Selin, Gabriel, Chilufya, Junior, Watjen, Emefile, Silva 

Bohemians: Walters; Power (Rooney, 58’), Hickey, Byrne, Flores, Mullen (Morahan, 58’); McDonnell (Diallo, 58’), Devoy, Tierney (Vaughan, 74’); Parsons (Myers, 58’), James-Taylor 

Subs not used: Chorazka, McDonnell, Burke, Whelan, Brennan, Adam, Strods 

Referee: Matteo Marcenaro (ITA)