As it happened: BATE Borisov v Dundalk, Champions League qualifying third round

Hello, and welcome to this evening’s liveblog.

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Here’s a reminder of how Dundalk reached the third qualifying round.

It’s been a great few weeks for Irish football. Below is some relevant pre-match reading material for you to enjoy.

• ‘He’s playing on half an ankle but that just shows you the type of man he is’
• Dundalk get another crack at BATE in the Champions League tonight
• ‘They celebrated beating us like they won the bloody Champions League’
• ‘They may be better and have more money but it’s an opportunity to make heroes of yourselves’
• How many millions do Dundalk stand to earn from further European progress?
• ‘At half-time we said ‘It’s only a matter of time – we’re cutting them open”
• ‘He’s playing on half an ankle but that just shows you the type of man he is’
• ‘I don’t see why we can’t go a step further’ – Cork City set for Belgian battle
• ’5,000 people stood in the rain, held their breath and watched a Portuguese referee’
• Why I’ll always be grateful for being introduced to the League of Ireland
• ‘You can be a young lad playing in Europe instead of sitting on a bench in England’

Here’s the Dundalk team for tonight…

Dundalk: 1. Gary Rogers; 4. Andrew Boyle, 15. Patrick Barrett, 14. Dane Massey, 2. Sean Gannon; 6. Stephen O’Donnell, 11. Patrick McEleney, 10. Ronan Finn; 9. David McMillan, 7. Daryl Horgan, Robbie Benson.

Subs: 22. Gabriel Sava, 16. Ciarán Kilduff, 17. Georgie Poynton, 5. Chris Shields, 21. Darren Meenan, 8. John Mountney, 12. Shane Grimes.

And here’s the BATE team…

BATE: 16. Sergei Veremko; 33. Denis Polyakov, 4. Kaspars Dubra, 14. Artur Pikk, 15. Maksim Zhavnerchik; 10. Mirko Ivanic, 77. Yuri Kendysh, 7. Aleksandr Karnitskiy; 20. Vitali Rodionov, 22. Igor Stasevich, 17. Aleksey Rios.

Subs: 80. Valerian Gviliia, 18. Dmitri Mozolevski, 3. Vitali Gajduchik, 62. Mikhail Gordejchuk, 48. Denis Shcherbitski, 8. Aliaksandr Volodko, 81. Alexsandr Hleb.

Dundalk defender Brian Gartland, who’s currently out injured, is doing a bit of punditry tonight for EirSport.

His jacket has also been getting a fair bit of attention on social media.

We’re underway…

Half chance for BATE early on.

Stasevich’s shot from outside the box curls just over the bar.

BATE have had the majority of the possession in the opening stages.

Dundalk have looked relatively solid though, and seem content to sit back and try to hit their opponents on the break.

Dundalk win possession deep in BATE territory.

Horgan gets the ball and takes on his man — his subsequent cross appears to deflect off a BATE player before going out of play, but the referee awards a goal kick.

Moment of panic for Dundalk.

Barrett slips in possession and Rodionov capitalises initially, though the Dundalk defender does well to get back and make a recovery tackle.

BATE continue to probe patiently, while Dundalk seem happy to soak up pressure.

Rodionov tries to play an intricate, defence-splitting pass, but he overhits it and the danger is averted.

A few dangerous moments for Dundalk.

Firstly, a Rodionov attempt is deflected out for a corner. From the ensuing set piece, Karnitskiy’s header goes just off target.

A few moments later, Rodionov gets on the end of a cross, and his attempt from close range hits the crossbar.

Dundalk are really living on the edge at the moment.

Rodionov again gets on the end of a cross, and he hooks his attempt just wide.

He was penalised for a high foot, so it wouldn’t have counted, but the momentum is certainly with BATE right now.

Dundalk are really under the cosh here.

The visitors are struggling to curb the relentless tide of BATE pressure.

At this rate, they’ll be doing well to go in 0-0 at half-time.

Zhavnerchik is a lucky boy!

He goes in on leading elbow first on O’Donnell, getting booked as a result.

On the evidence of replays, however, he’s lucky to stay on the field.

Here’s a look at that poor challenge on O’Donnell.

Big chance for Dundalk!

It’s great link-up play between Horgan and Benson, and the latter’s shot from the edge of the box is pushed just wide by Veremko.

Here’s a look at that big chance for Dundalk…

Click here if you can’t view the video.

Stasevich beats McEleney down the left, but his shot is straight at Rogers.

Moments later, Ivanić’s sliding attempt from close range goes narrowly wide.

Dundalk surely can’t keep this up for 90 minutes.

HALF-TIME: BATE 0-0 DUNDALK

Half-time, and BATE have been extremely dominant so far.

Dundalk have largely sat back and soaked up pressure, with BATE enjoying the majority of the possession and territory.

The Belarusians had a few decent chances, though Dundalk have defended well for the most part to keep the hosts at bay.

The Irish side had one glorious chance, when Robbie Benson’s finish was palmed just wide, but that moment aside, they’ve been continually under the cosh.

The hosts did get one moment of good fortune, however, when Zhavnerchik received only a yellow card for a blatant elbow on O’Donnell.

The second half is underway…

Dundalk have made a defensive double change at half-time.

John Mountney and Chris Shields have replaced Patrick McEleney and Robbie Benson.

The second half has begun along similar lines to the first.

Every outfield BATE player is in Dundalk’s half of the field as I type.

Better from Dundalk, who are just starting to string a few passes together.

They’re mainly innocuous sideways passes, but it at least takes the pressure off their defence for a period.

Pikk receives the ball in a decent position, but he runs it straight out of play.

There are a few signs in recent minute that a sense of frustration is creeping into BATE’s play as they struggle to break down this diligent Dundalk defence.

A ball is fired across the Dundalk box but no one is in the right position to connect with it.

Meanwhile, there’s a big cheer from the home crowd, as 35-year-old ex-Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb replaces Zhavnerchik for BATE.

Ronan Finn has just been booked for a late challenge.

The second half has been increasingly encouraging from a Dundalk perspective, with BATE failing to really test Rogers despite all the home side’s possession.

It’s an attacking change for BATE, as Mikhail Gordejchuk replaces Mirko Ivanic.

Moments earlier, Rios’ dangerous cross was well defended and headed out for a BATE corner.

BATE 1-0 DUNDALK (GORDEJCHUK 69)

BATE finally break the deadlock, and it’s the two substitutes who combine.

It’s given away sloppily by Gannon, before Hleb plays through Gordejchuk, who fires home to put the hosts in the driving seat.

It’s an uphill task for Dundalk now.

Here’s a look at the goal. Rogers will be disappointed to be beaten at his near post.

Dundalk are beginning to get bodies forward now.

Shields’ pot shot is blocked, before the visitors win a corner.

Following that brief flurry of Dundalk pressure, BATE now look well in control again.

Dundalk look a tired outfit at the moment.

A sloppy misplaced pass allows BATE to break, before Stasevich’s shot is blocked.

Dundalk have been their own worst enemies at times tonight, and will need to be much better on the ball in the second leg if they are to retain any hopes of progression.

A cross goes all the way across the box to Stasevich, who forces a decent save from Rogers.

Moments later, Dubra’s header hits the crossbar.

The way this match has panned out, Dundalk will consider themselves lucky if they only lose by one goal.

A final change for BATE, as Aliaksandr Volodko replaces Aleksandr Karnitskiy.

The substitute almost gets in straight away, but Barrett stops him in his tracks with a good tackle.

FULL-TIME: BATE 1-0 DUNDALK

So that’s that.

It was a manful display from Dundalk, but BATE’s extra quality told in the end.

The red-card-that-should-have-been aside, the Irish side can have few complaints, as they rarely threatened and were beaten by the better team on the night despite some excellent defending.

The tie is by no means over, and on reflection, it could have been worse, as BATE wasted a couple of good chances throughout the contest.

Nevertheless, it will require a big performance from the Irish side in the second leg to rescue this tie against a talented BATE outfit.

Right, that’s all from me for now. We’ll have more reaction to follow.

Thanks for reading and commenting.