Andrew Dempsey reports from the Aviva Stadium
Bohemians boss Keith Long heaped praise on his young side as they once again came of age in front of a raucous Aviva Stadium crowd on Thursday night.
Bohs sailed to a convincing 3-0 win over Luxembourgish side F91 Dudelange to seal an incredible 4-0 aggregate win.
It was a result that may have come as a shock in regard to the comprehensive nature of, with Dudelange taking part in the Europa League group stages in two of the last three years.
Bohs took a first-half lead through Rob Cornwall’s header before Georgie Kelly netted a brace to cap off another incredible night for Bohs at the Aviva Stadium.
“It’s a good night for us, and a brilliant night for the club,” Long said during his post-match press conference.
“We were delighted to send our supporters home who were here in great numbers again home happy.
“They made some unbelievable noise in the stadium and to send them home happy is fantastic.”
It was a Bohs performance that possessed all that was good about this side which Long and his backroom team has constructed, with a strong work-ethic and a quality on the ball throughout.
And that was on show more than most for the final goal, as Kelly slotted home following a devastating counter-attack inspired by Liam Burt ripped open a sluggish Dudelange.
He's done it again! 🔥
Liam Burt's brilliant run and pass is finished off by Georgie Kelly, surely @bfcdublin can't be caught now?!
75' @bfcdublin 3-0 F91 Dudelange
Sign up 📺 | https://t.co/vfkMjbvRwA#LOITV | #LOI pic.twitter.com/uii1j0h8I4— SSE Airtricity League (@SSEAirtricityLg) July 29, 2021
“To a man they emptied the tank and they worked incredibly hard,” Long said on his team.
“They were disciplined at times, and we had to be. We probably feel like we can play a little bit better but that’s a credit to the opposition when you go up a level.
“We can pass and move it a little bit better going forward but that’s being hypercritical of a good team performance.
I’m pleased with the threat that we carried and how we defended for large periods of the game.
We kept another clean sheet in Europe which is no mean feat and we’ve beaten Dudelange who have been in two of the last three groups stages 4-0 over two legs.
There’s not a lot I can find a fault with to be honest.
Throughout the ninety minutes of action, Bohs never sat back, with their manager noting that sitting back is something that his side are not built for.
“It was our intent to bring the game to the opposition in order to progress, and I think we did that,” he added.
“We started on the front foot, we pressed them and got chances. We were creative and the boys were brave. Everyone wanted the ball and we wanted to get forward.
We rained forward down the sides with Anto Breslin and Andy Lyons being a real source of success.
It was our intention to start the game fast and on the front foot, and hopefully take a lead.
The simple message was that after we got another goal, the mindset was thinking about if we could get another goal.
That was driven home in the second half with some good attacking play. We had to absorb a little bit of pressure at times when they were flooding bodies forward.
There was no point sitting back and hanging on for a one-nil lead because this team isn’t built for that.
SEE ALSO: Hugely-Talented Irish Teenagers Sign First Professional Contracts With Brighton
