Delaney: Bohs should be proud of Euro efforts
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Their Champions League dream may be over, but FAI chief executive John Delaney believes that Bohemians should be "extremely proud" of their efforts against Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg in the second round of qualifying for UEFA's elite European club tournament.
The Gypsies were eliminated 2-1 on aggregate by Salzburg, following Wednesday night's 1-0 home defeat in the second leg at Dalymount Park. Bohs looked to be heading through on away goals before Salzburg snatched a late winner courtesy of Patrik Jezek.
However, speaking to extratime.ie after the game, Delaney said: "They should be proud of themselves for what they did over two legs. I thought tonight [Wednesday] they looked very comfortable and just one mistake at the end cost them. It would have been a wonderful result if they'd gone through over two legs, but they did Irish football proud tonight because that was a top team they were playing against.
"Bohs never looked uncomfortable. I thought they were going to hold on and go through, but just that one error was their undoing in the end and they were punished badly for it. But they should be very proud of what they did out there. It shows the progress that has been made by Irish clubs. We're 29th in the rankings now and Bohs proved tonight just how close we're getting to the breakthrough," he added.
The Gypsies were eliminated 2-1 on aggregate by Salzburg, following Wednesday night's 1-0 home defeat in the second leg at Dalymount Park. Bohs looked to be heading through on away goals before Salzburg snatched a late winner courtesy of Patrik Jezek.
However, speaking to extratime.ie after the game, Delaney said: "They should be proud of themselves for what they did over two legs. I thought tonight [Wednesday] they looked very comfortable and just one mistake at the end cost them. It would have been a wonderful result if they'd gone through over two legs, but they did Irish football proud tonight because that was a top team they were playing against.
"Bohs never looked uncomfortable. I thought they were going to hold on and go through, but just that one error was their undoing in the end and they were punished badly for it. But they should be very proud of what they did out there. It shows the progress that has been made by Irish clubs. We're 29th in the rankings now and Bohs proved tonight just how close we're getting to the breakthrough," he added.
