Bohemians Praha 1905 suffered a 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie against Bodø/Glimt. The match took place at the Aspmyra Stadion in Norway, as the UEFA deemed the Bohemians‘ stadium in Ďolíček unsuitable for hosting European matches.
The Czech team started their domestic league season with a 1-0 victory over Pardubice on Saturday, while Bodø/Glimt is halfway through their season in the Norwegian top flight. The Norwegian side has lost only one of their 16 league matches and currently sits at the top of the table with a nine-point lead, aiming for their third consecutive league title.
Bohemians‘ coach, Jaroslav Veselý, admitted that his team was outplayed by Bodø/Glimt, stating, „The result is cruel, but the opponent was the better team throughout the match. We defended quite well in the first half, but we lacked precision and confidence in our attacking play. I think the weight of the game affected us more than we expected.“
The home team dominated the match from the start, although they struggled to create clear-cut chances. In the 30th minute, Bohemians‘ forward Matoušek had a golden opportunity to score, but his shot went wide. Bodø/Glimt broke the deadlock just before halftime when Fet set up Grønner for a tap-in.
In the second half, Bodø/Glimt extended their lead in the 50th minute through Kjartansson’s goal. Bohemians had a few chances to get back into the game, with Hála hitting the crossbar and Matoušek missing the target from a promising position. However, it was Bodø/Glimt who had the final say in stoppage time when Espejord scored their third goal, sealing a comfortable victory for the Norwegian side.
The defeat leaves Bohemians with a difficult task in the second leg, which will be played at the Letná Stadium in Prague. The winner of the tie will face either Kalmar from Sweden or Pjunik Yerevan from Armenia in the third qualifying round. For the losing team, their European campaign will come to an end.
Bohemians‘ coach Veselý acknowledged the challenge ahead, saying, „When it was 2-0, it was still manageable. Now, it will be a tough task. We need to learn from this match, deliver a better performance, and try to score a goal to improve our coefficient.“
The second leg of the tie will take place in a week’s time, and Bohemians will be hoping for a strong performance to turn the tie around and keep their European hopes alive.
