Bohemians earn first leg win while Linfield and Glentoran lose out

BOHEMIANS picked up a first leg victory in the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round at Dalymount Park when they saw off St Joseph’s of Gibraltar 2-0. The first goal of the night arrived on the hour mark and it was Douglas James-Taylor who slotted home from the penalty spot after Ross Tierney had been fouled. Bohs doubled their advantage just before the final whistle sounded when substitute Connor Parsons headed in their second goal. Alan Reynolds’ side are on the road next week when they travel to Gibraltar. Elsewhere, David Healy’s Linfield suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nomme Kalju in their first leg at Pärnu Rannastaadion stadium. The sides were all square at the half time interval, but the first and only goal of the game came early in the second half when Roko Vukusic hit the net for the hosts. The Blues will entertain their Estonian opponents at Windsor Park on next Thursday evening for the second leg and are still in with a great chance of qualifying to face Shelbourne in the second round. Glentoran saw their first half 1-0 lead wiped out by Latvian side RFS at the BetMcLean Oval as they lost out 2-1 in their opening leg. Debutant Zeno Rossi headed the home side in front after 38 minutes but the lead was short lived as substitute Martins Kigurs levelled matters just before the break. Kigurs doubled his individual tally on the 70th minute with a fine effort from 30-yards out to see RFS claim a hard-fought win, but it’s still all to play for next Thursday night in the second leg.