Intertoto: Bohemians 2 - 1 FK Riga

Bohemians crashed out of the Intertoto Cup on away goals despite beating Latvian side FK Riga 2-1 in the second leg at Dalymount Park on Saturday night.

Trailing one nil from the first leg, Bohs grabbed an early lead when defender Jason McGuinness headed home Killian Brennan's free-kick at the back post, before Grigori Chirkin equalised midway through the second half with a fine volley from close range. Brennan's injury-time penalty ensured Bohs won the tie, but, despite four minutes of added time, they were unable to grab another to take them through to the third round.

A disappointing night for the home side was compounded in the dying seconds when Owen Heary was shown a straight red card after he was harshly adjudged to have tripped the last man.

Bohs were the victim of some dubious refereeing throughout the match from Norwegian official Brage Sandmoen, however they only have themselves to blame for what was a lackluster second half display. Pat Fenlon made three changes from the side which lost 1-0 in Latvia last weekend with Liam Burns, John Paul Kelly and Neale Fenn coming in. Club captain Kevin Hunt had to make do with a place on the bench.

Bohs started brightly and were rewarded for their early endeavor after 21 minutes when McGuinness rose highest at the back post to power home Brennan's free kick from the right flank. That goal leveled the tie on aggregate.

Having snatched an early goal, Bohs continued to dominate for much of the first half and really should have been further ahead by the interval, with Kelly proving menacing down the right wing. McGuinness had the ball in the net again shortly after, but Glen Crowe was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box. Heary and Crowe then forced fine saves from Sergejs Cepcugovs in the Riga goal. The away side's only chance of the half came when Igors Korablovs drew a fine point-blank save from Bohs' goalkeeper Brian Murphy just before the break.

While Bohs had looked like a side firmly intent on winning the tie during the first period, their play after the interval more resembled a team concerned with not losing it. Nerves appeared to creep in and they were creating little in the final third, although Crowe did shave the outside of the post with a header just after the hour-mark.

They were made to pay for their drop in performance just moments later when some slack defending from Bohs down the left allowed substitute Gints Freimanis to cross for Chirkin who expertly volleyed home from eight yards. That strike meant that Bohs required two goals if they were to progress. However, although there were almost 25 minutes left on the clock, Bohs struggled to create a chance of note.

They were thrown a lifeline on 90 minutes when Brennan was felled just inside the box by Roberts Mezeckis and the referee pointed to the spot. Brennan duly dusted himself off before slotting the ball home to the 'keeper's right.

As Bohs pushed for a third, they left gaping holes at the back. When Ivan Shpakov broke clear in the dying seconds, Owen Heary chased before making what looked to be perfectly timed challenge on the edge of the box. However, the linesman flagged furiously and following a discussion between him and the referee, Heary was shown a straight red card.

Riga will now meet Swedish side Elfsborg who cruised to a 4-0 aggregate victory over Scottish outfit Hibernian. Bohemians must now turn their attentions back to the bread and butter of the eircom Premier League.

Bohemians: Brian Murphy; Owen Heary, Jason McGuinness, Liam Burns, Conor Powell; John Paul Kelly, Glenn Cronin (Kevin Hunt, 22), Stephen O'Donnell, Killian Brennan; Neale Fenn, Glen Crowe

FK Riga: Sergejsy Chepchgov; Vladimir Zavoronkovs, Robert Mezeckis, Dmitijs Halvitovs, Igors Korablovs, Andrey Agafonov (Gints Freimanis, 55), Yevgeni Novikov, Valerijs Leonovs (Maksims Rafalskis, 76), Mindaugas Kalonas, Grigori Chirkin, Ivan Shpakov.

Referee: Brage Sandmoen (Norway).

Man of the match: Jason McGuinness (Bohemains).