Friday, 29 July 2022 | 17.1°C Belfast

Linfield's Kirk Millar was sent off for blocking a Bodo effort on the line with his hands during the Champions League clash in Norway

Linfield manager David Healy admitted his side were hurting after they were smashed 8-0 by Bodø/Glimt in Norway last night — losing their Champions League qualifier 8-1 on aggregate — but he’s convinced his side will fight back stronger after the European demolition.

T he Blues were defending a 1-0 lead following Kirk Millar’s strike at Windsor Park but the winger was sent off in the first half as the Norwegian champions ran riot.

The 8-0 defeat was Linfield’s heaviest loss in Europe since they were beaten by the same scoreline away to PSV Eindhoven in 1975.

Linfield now drop into the Europa League third qualifying round and will face FC Zürich after they lost 5-4 on aggregate after extra time to Qarabağ. The first leg will be at Windsor Park next Thursday.

Bodø turned on the power at the Aspmyra Stadion in a second-round qualifier which descended into a nightmare for the Irish Premiership champions.

Hugo Vetlesen’s early opener levelled the tie and Victor Boniface doubled the lead on the night from the spot after Millar was sent off for handball.

Amahl Pellegrino (2), Ulrik Saltnes, Runar Espejord (2) and Alfons Sampsted wrapped up an emphatic win.

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While Bodø prepare to face Lithuania’s FK Žalgiris Vilnius in the third round of qualifying, Linfield must regroup and take on FC Zürich.

“The early goal put us on the back foot but the players still believe we have an unbelievable opportunity against Zürich, and the players will continue to be absolutely huge for me as they have been over the last few years,” said Healy.

“I feel for the players, they are disappointed and despondent for obvious reasons by the result but we will bounce back.”

Healy added: “We have another opportunity to perform in the Europa League qualifiers and when you get to this level we understand there will always be a challenge.

“I’m disappointed but remaining positive and upbeat. We have a hell of a group of players who are hard working, honest, fantastic men and they will come back stronger from this.”

The heartache felt among the Linfield players is more acute as their incredible first leg lead saw them travel to Norway clinging to hope of a major upset.

“From speaking to the players, when you lose a game in that way it is disappointing, but we had an opportunity with a small lead and that then evaporated very quickly,” said Healy.

“It’s disappointing, we got off to a poor start and as soon as they got the penalty and red card it was going to be a hard night.

“I knew the tie was at half-time and there was such a long way to go. We knew the level that we were facing, they upped their game and took their chances.

“They punished us when we made small mistakes.”

Healy is now wondering whether Bodø/Glimt were guilty of complacency in the first leg as they certainly found another few gears on their home patch.

“They are a good side with a good level of intensity and they press to get the ball back,” he said. “They are ruthless and that’s something we talk about being domestically.

“They keep going to the 90th minute and credit to them.

“Maybe they did take their eye off the ball and under-estimated us last week but we knew what level they were at.

“Everything went right for us last week whereas a lot went wrong here. Conceding an early goal, going down to 10 men made it difficult and some of our defending should have been better.

“I’ll take the positives out of both legs and keep the players positive and upbeat as we look ahead to another huge game next week.”

Linfield captain Jamie Mulgrew — the Blues’ all-time European appearance holder — played his 50th European game, while Matthew Clarke played his 36th, which takes him up to joint second on the list alongside Noel Bailie MBE.

The Blues know they have already bagged a Europa Conference League Play-Off spot at least after that win over TNS placed them on the Champions Path of the qualifying rounds.

Meanwhile, Coleraine have announced the arrival of Evan McLaughlin from Derry City.

The midfielder joins the club on a season-long loan which will be reviewed in January. McLaughlin played under-age football for Foyle Harps before joining Derry City, where he netted on his senior debut against Waterford.

Ballymena United defender Conor Keeley has signed a new contract that will see him extend his stay until 2024.

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