Uefa Conference League First Qualifying Round First Leg:
Bohemians 2
St Joseph’s 0
BOHEMIANS EARNED A hard-fought 2-0 win over St Joseph’s in their opening Uefa Conference League first-leg clash as Dalymount Park hosted a European fixture for the first time in 14 years.
A 60th-minute Douglas James-Taylor penalty broke the deadlock after Ross Tierney was on the receiving end of a rash challenge just inside the area before a late Connor Parsons header doubled their lead.
Alan Reynolds’ men will be relieved to come away from this tight contest with a victory, and will feel confident of advancing at the expense of a limited St Joseph’s side ahead of the return leg in Gibraltar on 16 July.
Bohs, who are second in the Premier Division after 25 matches and trail leaders Shamrock Rovers by seven points, made two changes to their starting XI from last week’s defeat of Drogheda.
Patrick Hickey returned from suspension to replace Cian Byrne at the back, while Douglas James-Taylor came into the starting XI with Colm Whelan dropping to the bench.
For St Joseph’s, it was a first competitive match of the campaign, with their domestic season not kicking off until August.
Javi Muñoz’s side suffered a heartbreaking end to last season, finishing second to Lincoln Red Imps by a point.
The Gibraltarians came into the game with plenty of experience against Irish sides. In 2024, they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Shelbourne at the same stage of this competition.
They also recorded a 5-4 aggregate win against Cliftonville last year, before suffering an emphatic 4-0 loss to Shamrock Rovers in the second round.
Bohs probed in the early stages, while the visitors sat back with not much of note occurring amid a quiet opening 15 minutes.
The hosts eventually threatened as Darragh Power’s low cross was cleared for a corner, with Senan Mullen subsequently heading over the bar from Markuss Strods’ delivery.
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St Joseph’s responded by almost scoring down the other end - Francis Ferrón’s low shot from inside the area was cleared off the line by Douglas James-Taylor.
The visitors continued to counter-attack sporadically. Marco Rosa had a shot deflected off target as the Premier Division outfit struggled to create in attack.
On the right, Strods was looking one of the Dubliners’ livelier players, though Harry Vaughan could only head the winger’s cross tamely into the arms of opposition goalkeeper Bradley Banda.
Most of the play was in the St Joseph’s half, however, and Bohs occasionally looked dangerous from set pieces, with Banda doing well to parry away Strods’ inswinging corner from the left.
It was an uneventful first half for the most part, though, with neither side looking likely to score.
Bohs’ Ross Tierney and Bakary Essamay Diedhiou of St Joseph's. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Bohs made one substitution at the break, with Sadou Diallo replacing Mullen, meaning Jordan Flores switched to left-back to accommodate the former Man City youngster.
There was little change in the contest’s dynamic in the early stages, with a combination of stubborn defending and wastefulness in promising positions leaving the Irish side frustrated.
But out of nothing just before the hour mark, Bohs won a penalty.
Tierney fell to the ground as a result of a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box from Bakary Essamay Diedhiou, and the referee pointed to the spot.
James-Taylor stepped up and buried an unstoppable penalty to the goalkeeper’s right.
To make matters worse for St Joseph’s, Banda picked up an injury while attempting to save the penalty and had to be substituted as a result.
The goal did not change the game drastically, as St Joseph’s maintained their cautious approach.
An equaliser looked unlikely, but they went close in the 75th minute, as Javi Paul failed to hit the target with a header from Juanma’s free kick.
Bohs were also pushing for a second, and the Gypsies were unlucky when Ross Tierney’s fantastic driving run from midfield ended with the 25-year-old firing it inches to the wrong side of the post.
But the second goal came in stoppage time, as substitute Parsons headed home from Diallo’s cross.
It could have been even better for Bohs, as Romero did well to keep out Whelan’s effort after the striker was put through by Tierney’s lofted pass.
The return leg of the tie takes place next Thursday, with the winners set to play a second-round qualifier against Connah’s Quay of Wales or Kosovo’s FC Ballkani.
Bohemians: 25. Paul Walters 22. Sam Todd 25. Patrick Hickey 16. Darragh Power 15. Senan Mullen (Diallo 46) 6. Jordan Flores 10. Dawson Devoy 26. Ross Tierney 8. Harry Vaughan (Parsons 65) 32. Markuss Strods (Rooney 65) 18. Douglas James-Taylor (Whelan 76)
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Bohemians earn first-leg advantage after victory over Gibraltarians
Uefa Conference League First Qualifying Round First Leg:
Bohemians 2
St Joseph’s 0
BOHEMIANS EARNED A hard-fought 2-0 win over St Joseph’s in their opening Uefa Conference League first-leg clash as Dalymount Park hosted a European fixture for the first time in 14 years.
A 60th-minute Douglas James-Taylor penalty broke the deadlock after Ross Tierney was on the receiving end of a rash challenge just inside the area before a late Connor Parsons header doubled their lead.
Alan Reynolds’ men will be relieved to come away from this tight contest with a victory, and will feel confident of advancing at the expense of a limited St Joseph’s side ahead of the return leg in Gibraltar on 16 July.
Bohs, who are second in the Premier Division after 25 matches and trail leaders Shamrock Rovers by seven points, made two changes to their starting XI from last week’s defeat of Drogheda.
Patrick Hickey returned from suspension to replace Cian Byrne at the back, while Douglas James-Taylor came into the starting XI with Colm Whelan dropping to the bench.
For St Joseph’s, it was a first competitive match of the campaign, with their domestic season not kicking off until August.
Javi Muñoz’s side suffered a heartbreaking end to last season, finishing second to Lincoln Red Imps by a point.
The Gibraltarians came into the game with plenty of experience against Irish sides. In 2024, they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Shelbourne at the same stage of this competition.
They also recorded a 5-4 aggregate win against Cliftonville last year, before suffering an emphatic 4-0 loss to Shamrock Rovers in the second round.
Bohs probed in the early stages, while the visitors sat back with not much of note occurring amid a quiet opening 15 minutes.
The hosts eventually threatened as Darragh Power’s low cross was cleared for a corner, with Senan Mullen subsequently heading over the bar from Markuss Strods’ delivery.
St Joseph’s responded by almost scoring down the other end - Francis Ferrón’s low shot from inside the area was cleared off the line by Douglas James-Taylor.
The visitors continued to counter-attack sporadically. Marco Rosa had a shot deflected off target as the Premier Division outfit struggled to create in attack.
On the right, Strods was looking one of the Dubliners’ livelier players, though Harry Vaughan could only head the winger’s cross tamely into the arms of opposition goalkeeper Bradley Banda.
Most of the play was in the St Joseph’s half, however, and Bohs occasionally looked dangerous from set pieces, with Banda doing well to parry away Strods’ inswinging corner from the left.
It was an uneventful first half for the most part, though, with neither side looking likely to score.
Bohs made one substitution at the break, with Sadou Diallo replacing Mullen, meaning Jordan Flores switched to left-back to accommodate the former Man City youngster.
There was little change in the contest’s dynamic in the early stages, with a combination of stubborn defending and wastefulness in promising positions leaving the Irish side frustrated.
But out of nothing just before the hour mark, Bohs won a penalty.
Tierney fell to the ground as a result of a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box from Bakary Essamay Diedhiou, and the referee pointed to the spot.
James-Taylor stepped up and buried an unstoppable penalty to the goalkeeper’s right.
To make matters worse for St Joseph’s, Banda picked up an injury while attempting to save the penalty and had to be substituted as a result.
The goal did not change the game drastically, as St Joseph’s maintained their cautious approach.
An equaliser looked unlikely, but they went close in the 75th minute, as Javi Paul failed to hit the target with a header from Juanma’s free kick.
Bohs were also pushing for a second, and the Gypsies were unlucky when Ross Tierney’s fantastic driving run from midfield ended with the 25-year-old firing it inches to the wrong side of the post.
But the second goal came in stoppage time, as substitute Parsons headed home from Diallo’s cross.
It could have been even better for Bohs, as Romero did well to keep out Whelan’s effort after the striker was put through by Tierney’s lofted pass.
The return leg of the tie takes place next Thursday, with the winners set to play a second-round qualifier against Connah’s Quay of Wales or Kosovo’s FC Ballkani.
Bohemians: 25. Paul Walters 22. Sam Todd 25. Patrick Hickey 16. Darragh Power 15. Senan Mullen (Diallo 46) 6. Jordan Flores 10. Dawson Devoy 26. Ross Tierney 8. Harry Vaughan (Parsons 65) 32. Markuss Strods (Rooney 65) 18. Douglas James-Taylor (Whelan 76)
Subs: 1. Kacper Chorążka 3. Ryan Burke 4. Niall Morahan 5. Sadou Diallo 7. Connor Parsons 9. Colm Whelan 11. Dayle Rooney 17. Adam McDonnell 23. Zane Myers 24. Cian Byrne 29. Josh Harpur 30. Finn McDonnell
St Joseph’s: 1. Bradley Banda (Romero 64) 2. Kingsley Fobi 4. Javi Paul 5. Geovanni Barba 20. Sébastien Lauture 8. Marco Rosa (Moreno 70) 22. Juanma 16. Bakary Essamay Diedhiou (De Haro 83) 3. Julian Valarino 19. Francis Ferrón (Pirulo 65) 23. Álvaro Cascajo (Rodríguez 46)
Subs: 13. Gato Romero 30. Iván Morales 6. Evan De Haro 7. Javi Forján 9. Pablo Rodríguez 10. Álvaro Rey 12. Javi Moreno 17. Jamie Coombes 24. Hassane Amadou 33. Pirulo
Referee: Lasse Læbel Graagaard (Denmark)
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