Bohemians 3

Stjarnan 0

(Bohemians win 4-1 on aggregate) 

Ciarán Kennedy reports from the Aviva Stadium

EUROPEAN GAMES ARE not supposed to be this comfortable for League of Ireland teams. Even on the good nights, there’s usually a bit a drama, or at least a period of sustained tension and unease. 

Not tonight. Not for a Bohemians team who from the very first minute, looked totally and utterly dominant against Icelandic side Stjarnan in this Europa Conference League first qualifying round, second leg fixture, Keith Long’s side running out 3-0 winners at the Aviva Stadium.

For the vast majority of the 6,000 Bohemians supporters in attendance, this was the first opportunity to see their team, and each other, for 16 long months. They certainly made the most of the occasion, bringing splashes of red and black to the pubs of Dublin 4 as their team relocated to the southside for the night.

The party atmosphere never really dipped once they moved inside the stadium, and on the club’s first appearance at Lansdowne Road since 1992, Bohemians showed no signs of being overawed by the occasion.

It wasn’t hard to see a performance like this coming. Even in Stjörnuvöllur last week, it was the visitors who looked the stronger of the two teams as the Dublin side brought a 1-1 draw back to the Aviva.

Within the opening minutes, they were looking to take control of the tie, and the superb Dawson Devoy was at the heart of most of their best passages of play.

The 19-year-old saw a shot deflect narrowly wide early on. Tyreke Wilson then flashed a low cross across the box, the ball just evading Georgie Kelly.

The chances kept coming. Devoy got his angles wrong and curled one wide of the far post. Then he found Kelly at the back post, only for the in-form striker to see his effort well saved by Haraldur Björnsson.

Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

Failing to capitalise on their superiority, Bohemians allowed a few lapses of concentration to creep in. Rory Feely lingered on the ball too long and was caught in possession by Hilmar Arni Halldorsson, the defender happy to go in the book and relieved to see Halldorsson’s subsequent free-kick sail wide after scrambling back to foul the Stjarnan No10.   

The home side pressed on, Kelly only getting studs to Wilson’s latest low cross and seeing his effort easily saved. 

Then it arrived. Devoy latched onto an overhit corner, sized up his options, shimmied between two Stjarnan defenders and squared the ball to Kelly, who this time nestled the ball in the back of the net from close range as thousands of Bohemians supporters celebrated a live goal for the first time in over a year.

They almost had a second shortly after, Liam Burt stinging Björnsson’s gloves when he should have doubled their lead.

Bohemians went in at the break 1-0 up, knowing they could easily have had two or three more.

Their intensity momentarily dropped off in the early stages of the second period, Bohemians having to weather the mildest of Icelandic storms as the visitors failed to produce anything from a succession of half-chances.

Dawson Devoy reacts to a missed chance. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

Instead, Bohs settled back into the game and took control again. Stjarnan were sloppy in possession at the back, allowing time for Devoy to nip it, the loose ball falling to Burt who ran fast and direct at the Stjarnan goal, with Kelly swinging a leg to score his second just as Burt looked in danger of overrunning the ball.

With 30 minutes to play, the Dublin side were 3-1 up on aggregate and fully able to enjoy the rest of the game as their fans ran through the Bohemians songbook.

Impressively, they never let their scoring threat dip. Ross Tierney cursed himself after curling a free-kick wide. Devoy then cut inside and floated a ball towards Tierney, who couldn’t connect properly. A lovely counter-attack broke down when Andrew Lyons put too much weight on the final pass. Devoy sent a low shot against Björnsson’s legs.

The lively Burt eventually supplied the third goal, roaming into an acre of open space to get on the end of Keith Buckley’s long ball and finishing well as Björnsson advanced. 

The win books Bohemians a date against Luxembourg’s Dudelange in the second qualifying round as well as securing €350,000 in Uefa prize money for the club.

All in all, a pretty decent night out.

Bohemians: James Talbot; Andrew Lyons, Rory Feely (Robert Cornwall HT), Ciaran Kelly, Tyreke Wilson; Alistair Coote, Dawson Devoy (Jamie Mullins 89), Keith Buckley (capt), Liam Burt (Keith Ward 80); Ross Tierney (Conor Levingston 72), Georgie Kelly.

Subs: Enda Minogue, Stephen McGuinness, Anthony Breslin, Stephen Mallon James Finnerty, Bastien Hery, Sean Grehan, Robert Mahon.

Booked: Feely 23

Stjarnan: Haraldur Björnsson; Heidar Aegisson, Daníel Laxdal (capt), Brynjar Gudjónsson, Elís Rafn Björnsson; Magnus Clausen (Einar Ingvarsson 70), Eyjólfur Héidinsson (Eggert Aron Guömundsson 80), Casper Sloth (Tristan Freyr Ingolfsson 89); Emil Atlason (Oliver Haurits 70), Thorsteinn Már Ragnarsson (Halldor Orri Bjórnsson 70), Hilmar Arni Halldorsson.

Subs: Arnar Pétursson, Viktor Reynir Oddgerisson, Óli Valur Ómarsson, Thórarinn Valdimarsson, Bjórn Berg Bryde, Adolf Daöi Birgisson. 

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