Long fancies Bohs to cause Europa upset

THERE were plenty of giddy photos on the Bohemians Twitter account yesterday as the players and staff boarded their charter flight to Hungary. And why not? This evening’s Europa League duel with Fehervar in Hungary (5.30) represents the club’s first European game since 2012. Back then, they crashed out of the Europa League first round 5-1 on aggregate to a littleknown Iceland outfit. That same season, Videoton (who changed their name to Fehervar two years ago) reached the group stages of the competition and have been regulars in Europe over the years, even managing to reach the 1985 UEFA Cup final. Ranked 122nd in UEFA’s club coefficients, the Hungarian hot-pots are seeded ninth of the 94 teams in the first qualifying round, compared to Bohs 83rd. As manager Keith Long (right) observed, ‘They are probably the toughest draw we could have got in the pot we were in.’ So, should Long’s likely lads advance this evening, it would represent the greatest success in Europe since Rocky O’Brien and Co put Rangers to the sword at Dalymount in 1984 — what a night that was. Bohs have won five on the spin to lie two points behind Shamrock Rovers in the Premier Division table, and are in fine fettle. The Gypsies like to play a counter-attacking game, breaking quickly with pace and Long will no doubt set them up accordingly, looking to the pace of Kris Twardek and Danny Grant to hurt the Hungarians. ‘The longer it goes on without a goal, the more chance we’ve got.

‘Then the pressure is on the opposition because they are at home and expected to go through,’ said Long. ‘They’ve got Brazilian U20 internationals, Macedonian internationals, current and past Hungarian internationals. They’ve a French midfielder called Lyes Houri. He’s got beautiful balance, can pass short and long.’ ‘There’s been a lot of money pumped into that team so we can’t underestimate the task.’