- Raymond Denning
- Fri, Jul 22 2011
A 1-1 draw was not enough to prevent Bohemians bowing out of the Europa League at the 2nd qualifying round stage on a 3-1 aggregate score-line to Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia at Dalymount Park on Thursday night.
The hosts dominated the match for long periods but the concession of a cruel Ger O'Brien own-goal ten minutes from time proved their un- doing.
The match began in a cagey fashion with neither side having a sight of goal early on; the match being interrupted by numerous free-kicks. The first shot at goal came from the visitors in the 14th minute, when the scorer of the two goals from last week, Dare Vršic, struck a low shot that just went wide of Barry Murphy's post, resulting in a corner kick.
Two minutes later, Killian Brennan had Bohs' first sight of goal. Following a good run by Brennan himself at the heart of the Ljubljana defence he was taken down just outside the box. His free kick was well over the bar, however.
Olimpija Ljubljana had a couple of attempts at goal, keeping the Gypsies defence honest, with Valencic and Lovrevic going close. It was Bohemians; however that took the lead in the 34 minute. A deep Killian Brennan corner from the left was met by the head of Aidan Price, who sent his header crashing off the Ljubljana crossbar, but Christy Fagan was on hand to nod into the corner from close range. The goal was greeted by rapturous applause, with the large crowd well aware that this goal opened up the contest, with the aggregate score line now at 2-1 to the visitors.
Ljubljana were keenly aware of this fact also, and tellingly they dominated possession for the remainder of the first half, effectively taking the wind out of Bohemians sails just after the goal.
Bohs' did have one opportunity to bring the tie back to parity just before half time, when Fagan almost took the ball past Džafic in the Ljubljana goal after he stumbled over a back pass. However the 'keeper regained the ball as Fagan's touch was not strong enough to take him clear.
At the other end, Murphy was forced to produce a flying save to prevent a flicked header from going in, and it saw the home side go in at half time with a one goal lead.
When the game settled down in the second half it was Bohemians who were very much in the ascendancy. The home side forced numerous corner kicks and had several dangerous crosses into the area but the Ljubljana defence coped well with the onslaught.
The visitors did break forward at times to create some danger for the Bohs' defence, with Slovenian international Vrši? going close once more.
However it was Bohemians who were in almost in total control as the second half wore on, and as the minutes ticked past the restlessness around Dalymount became more and more audible.
Bohs suffered a blow just before the hour mark when centre-half Liam Burns was forced off following a clash of heads with a Ljubljana striker. Ollie Cahill came on, with Owen Heary moving into the centre of defence as a result.
The telling moment of the tie arrived with ten minutes remaining, but it came at the goal Bohemians were defending.
After a Ljubljana attack broke down, Ger O'Brien collected the ball facing his own goal and under little pressure, attempted a pass back to keeper Murphy. However, Murphy was completely wrong-footed and as a result the ball trickled into the net, effectively killing off the tie in the visitors favour.
The Bohemians challenge was now deflated, and the visitors played out the match in relative comfort, knowing that they had booked their place in the 3rd qualifying round.
The final whistle ended what was a frustrating encounter for Bohs, as their European campaign ended after just one tie for the third year running.
Bohemians: Barry Murphy; Owen Heary (c), Liam Burns (Ollie Cahill, 61), Aidan Price, Mark Rossiter (Aidan Downes, 81); Keith Buckley, Ger O'Brien, Glenn Cronin, Robert Bayly (Christopher Forrester, 71) Killian Brennan; Christy Fagan.
Subs not used: Craig Sexton, Gary Burke, Roberto Lopes, Kevin Feely.
Olimpija Ljubljana: Elvis Džafic, Matic Fink (Nik Omladic, 46), Sreten Sretenovic (David Kašnik, 86), Milan Andelkovic, Erik Salkic, Boban Jovic, Anej Lovrecic, Dalibor Radujko (c), Dare Vršic, , Davor Škerjanc, Filip Valencic (Dragan Cadikovski, 73).
Subs not used: Kristjan Lipovac, Enes Rujovic, Blaž Božic, Dorde Ivelja.
Referee: Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni (Italy).
Attendance: 3,800 (estimate).
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Christy Fagan. Was the chief attacking threat for Bohs, getting a goal and working the Ljubljana defence at every opportunity.
