There were suggestions over the past week or so that Bohemians, having so recently learned to walk on the European stage, reckoned they were ready for something a little more exuberant. A home defeat last night by a Swedish team who have spent a few more years perfecting their approach to these things may well have brought them down to earth.

The tie may not quite be dead yet, but the desperation the home side showed as they chased an equaliser through the closing stages suggests that they know next week's return leg is now a tremendously tall order.

As they tired and the game opened up, their shortcomings, both in central defence and alongside Glen Crowe up front, were exposed by a talented visiting side that boasted a sprinkling of internationals. For an Irish side to come away from a European tie against quality opponents feeling that they're a couple of players short, though, is progress in itself.

The home side's talk beforehand had hardly indicated a lack of confidence, but the way in which Bohemians swept into the game last night was still a surprise. Against the Estonians they'd taken the lead within a minute or so, and clearly this time they felt that every moment that passed without them finding the net would be viewed as a wasted opportunity.

All too often in the past the willingness of Irish teams to have a go at more highly-ranked visitors has tended to be based on a sense that there was nothing to lose. This time it looked to be the result of abundant self-belief.

Defensively it may not quite have been flawless - even early on Shaun Maher and Stephen Caffrey seemed determined to get themselves booked - but when Pete Mahon's side went forward last night they produced some of the most exhilarating football we have seen from an Irish team in European competition.

Mark Rutherford, as expected, was one thorn in the side of the Swedish champions, but there was no shortage of others, with Kevin Hunt and John, in particular, contributing handsomely to a strong performance early on.

Paul Byrne, in contrast, seemed fairly out of sorts during the opening exchanges. Even when he's out of sorts, though, the former Celtic player is worth keeping an eye on and when he fed Glen Crowe 35 yards out in the 20th minute and the striker played him in with a return moments later, the 29 year-old curled a wonderfully driven shot towards the far top corner and drew a quite spectacular save from international goalkeeper Hakan Svensson. Crowe inevitably opened the scoring for the home side, heading past Svensson after a neatly worked short corner for his fifth European goal.

By half time, however, his tally should have been eight, for twice last year's record-breaker was put clear on the fringes of the area thanks to the ingenuity of his team-mates and, twice, with the 'keeper a long way off his line, the young Dubliner passed up the opportunity to chip his opponent.

The misses would prove costly for within seven minutes of taking the lead - and after Simon Webb had come terribly close to doubling it direct from corner - Bohemians had been pegged back. Not for the first time on the night the Swedes slipped through the home side's often shaky offside trap and, not for the first time either, they were rewarded with a mis-timed intervention by Wayne Russell, who had no complaints after Stefan Selakovic went tumbling and the referee pointed to the spot. Tommy Jonsson converted.

Worse was to follow 11 minutes into the second half. Torbjorn Avridson caused the initial threat and, after Russell had again committed himself, Selakovic chipped a perfect finish.

In previous years, the task for the home side might simply have been to prevent a collapse, but Mahon's men stuck to their gameplan, hunting relentlessly for another goal at one end while continuing to live a little too dangerously at the other. It made for exciting stuff and Rutherford might have levelled before the end but their boundless spirit simply wasn't enough.

" Halmstad showed out there tonight what a difficult team they are to play against," said Mahon afterwards. " But honestly I don't believe there is much between the sides. I'm very proud of the way they played and this tie isn't over yet, we can still score one or two goals over there."

Bohemians: Russell; Shelley, Maher, John, Webb; Byrne (Harkin, 78 mins), Hunt, Caffrey, Rutherford; Nesovic (Morrison, 78 mins), Crowe (O'Neill, 86 mins).

Halmstad: Svensson; Vennberg, Svensson, Jonsson, F Andersson (Jensen, 59 mins); Nilsson, Hansson (Gustafsson, half-time), Avridsson, Wowoa (Karlsson, 90 mins); Selakovic, R Andersson.

Referee: E Ersoy (Turkey).