Bohemians defeat PAOK setting up an interesting second-leg in the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round

Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)

Bohemians continued their winning run at the Aviva Stadium with a 2-1 victory over Greece’s PAOK in the first-leg of their UEFA Europa Conference third-round qualifying tie.

With nearly half an hour gone, Scottish striker, Ali Coote found the net for Bohs after Georgie Kelly won the ball and drove into the box before teeing up the Scot, who smashed it into the net from the edge of the six-yard box.

At the start of the second half, Coote scored again to double the Irish side’s advantage with a sharp finish inside the box. Nelson Oliveira pulled an important goal back for PAOK in the 78th minute to make it 2-1 on the night and in turn setting up an exciting second-leg in Greece next week.

Despite the brace for Coote on the night, Bohemians manager Keith Long was keen to heap praise on the club’s key striker Kelly, who has hit the net 16 times already this season with 12 league goals in 20 matches and four in Europe.

“There’s no doubt Georgie’s [Kelly] bang in form during this European campaign so far. He’s amongst the goals, he’s our talisman and is at the top of his game”.

With the upcoming internationals for Ireland looming, Long commented on whether the striker is ready for international football.

“It’s not for me to say where he sits in international reckoning. Obviously, we are not blessed with goalscorers and he’s doing it on the European stage”.

It will be interesting to see if Kelly features in the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup Qualifiers at the start of September against Portugal, Azerbaijan and Serbia.

In the meantime, he’ll do his cause no harm if he helps Bohemians progress past PAOK in Greece next Thursday night.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

Share and Enjoy !

Shares
Mark Szczuka

Recent Posts

Chicago Stars part ways with GM Feuz

CHICAGO, IL--The Chicago Stars FC needed a change with the way the club is going…

4 days ago

Which NBA players support EPL clubs?

There isn’t anything quite like English soccer. The unrivaled pyramid system in the country is…

5 days ago

US World Cup squad formally announced

NEW YORK, NY--At Pier 17 in New York City, the formal announcement of the 26-man…

5 days ago

Soccer on the Sound: Midlakes draw Tacoma Stars

Midlakes United 1-1 Tacoma Stars BELLEVUE, WA--USL League Two action got underway last week and…

5 days ago

Phil Neville sacked as Timbers coach

The Portland Timbers have mutually parted ways with Head Coach Phil Neville, the club announced today. The…

5 days ago