Linfield have it all to do in the second leg of the Europa Conference League third round qualifier after falling to a 2-1 defeat at home to Fola Esch.
The Luxembourg domestic champions will deservedly take a one-goal lead into next Thursday’s return leg having created better chances than the hosts.
Billy Chadwick struck in the ninth minute to give Linfield an early lead in front of nearly 3,000 fans but second half goals from Stefano Bensi and Gauthier Caron gave Fola the win.
With Uefa abolishing the away goals rule for all club competitions, Linfield’s task next week is not as daunting as it would have been in previous seasons however they will still need a considerable improvement if they are to turn the tie around.
Much credit must go to Fola, whose quick and accurate play going forward never allowed Linfield’s defence to settle. Even before Chadwick’s early goal the visitors had two shots on target although both were easily dealt with by Chris Johns.
Linfield too were quickly out of the traps and were rewarded early when Hull City loanee Chadwick dispossessed Julien Klein and raced in on goal before calmly slotting between the legs of goalkeeper Emanuel Cabral.
Despite going ahead, Linfield were not able to dictate the tempo of the match for any length of time as Fola continued to press.
![Chadwick](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/624/cpsprodpb/D581/production/_119775645_chadwick.jpg)
Jules Diallo and Bensi, a Luxembourg international who scored against Northern Ireland in 2013, went close before the break as poor passing in Linfield’s midfield saw possession coughed up cheaply.
The reigning Irish Premiership did continue to carve out chances of their own, with Kirk Millar and Chadwick leading the energetic charge that met the start of the second half.
After Bensi’s free-kick whistled just wide of the post, Jimmy Callacher nearly found a second goal for the hosts with a trademark back-post header from Millar’s cross, but on this occasion his effort looped over the bar.
Eventually, Fola were rewarded for their persistence with Bensi scoring the goal his individual performance deserved, wrapping his foot around the ball from just outside the area to curl a beautiful effort into the far corner.
From then, the visitors looked far the more likely to go on and find a winner with Bensi blazing a gilt-edged opportunity over the bar from eight yards out.
The winning goal eventually arrived with two minutes of normal time remaining, as Johns acrobatically tipped Bensi’s free-kick onto the post only for substitute Caron to slam home the rebound.
The winner of this tie will go on to meet either Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan or Armenians Alashkert in the inaugural Conference League play-offs
Line-ups
Linfield
- 1Johns
- 4Newberry
- 8Hume
- 22Mulgrew
- 16Clarke
- 5ShieldsBooked at 87mins
- 30ChadwickSubstituted forManzingaat 64′minutes
- 7MillarSubstituted forSalamat 90+1′minutes
- 6CallacherBooked at 40mins
- 35PalmerSubstituted forQuinnat 65′minutes
- 20FallonSubstituted forNasseriat 90+1′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Roscoe-Byrne
- 9Manzinga
- 15Nasseri
- 25Pepper
- 31Quinn
- 32Salam
- 34Clarke
- 41Carroll
- 51Walsh
Fola Esch
- 33Cabral
- 3Zambujo Pimentel
- 28Klein
- 27Grisez
- 21Ouassiero
- 12FreireBooked at 47mins
- 10BensiSubstituted forDragovicat 90+2′minutes
- 7Delgado
- 98MustaficSubstituted forCorreiaat 90+2′minutes
- 18OmosanyaBooked at 43minsSubstituted forCaronat 63′minutes
- 11DialloSubstituted forBoutrifat 62′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Dikaba
- 6Marques Pascoal
- 9Caron
- 15Costa de Sousa
- 16Boutrif
- 17dos Reis Parreira
- 19Dragovic
- 20Correia
- 22da Costa e Sousa
- 25Correia
- 44Matos
- 46Mura
- Referee:
- Aleksandrs Anufrijevs