Champions League: Exquisite Kirk Millar lob gives Linfield impressive first-leg win over Bodø/Glimt

Linfield players celebrate Millar's superb late goal

An outstanding late goal from Kirk Millar gave Linfield a hugely impressive 1-0 win over Bodø/Glimt in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round match at Windsor Park.

The Blues winger charged the ball down well before composing himself and delivering an exquisite chip over visiting goalkeeper Nikita Haikin with seven minutes remaining.

Bodø/Glimt had a number of chances to take the lead, with Chris Shields and Stephen Fallon clearing off the line.

The Norwegian champions enjoyed wins over Celtic and Roma in last season's Europa Conference League but must now come back from a goal down in the second leg next Tuesday if they are to overcome the Irish Premiership champions.

The winner of this tie will play will play either Malmo of Sweden or Lithuania's FK Zalgiris Vilnius in the third round of Champions League qualifying - with Vilnius winning the first leg 1-0 on Tuesday.

The team that loses, meanwhile, will drop into the third qualifying stage of the Europa League and would play either Qarabag or FC Zurich, with Qarabag taking a 3-2 lead to Switzerland.

Millar's goal, coming after captain Jamie Mulgrew's stunning strike in last week's victory over The New Saints, must be one of the most audacious goals ever scored by Linfield in Europe.

David Healy's Linfield have won four consecutive Irish Premiership titles

The winger, well-known for his accurate crossing, took his time before finding the net with a deadly-accurate lob to win the first-leg tie for his team.

Bodø/Glimt had enjoyed the majority of possession on a warm evening in Belfast but failed to make it count due to some poor finishing, good goalkeeping from Chris Johns and those shots that were cleared off the line.

The first one was in the 55th minute when a Hugo Vetlesen volley looked to be heading towards goal when midfielder Shields headed clear a few yards out from the line.

They came close again on 74 minutes when substitute Amahl Pellegrino's low shot was blocked on the line by the hard-working Fallon.

Linfield had almost taken an unlikely lead themselves just a minute before that, with Shields rising well to meet a Matthew Clarke corner but guiding his header just inches wide of the post.

Healy's men, who were without the injured Joel Cooper after he impressed against TNS in the last round, had to soak up a lot of pressure in the early stages, but looked threatening themselves on the break through Millar down the right.

Joel Mvuka spurned two opportunities for the visitors before Ulrik Saltnes forced an excellent save from Johns, with the Linfield keeper getting down smartly to save his low drive.

Alfons Sampsted fired over the crossbar from a good position late in the first half as the sides went in level at the break.

In Bulgaria, meanwhile, League of Ireland Premier Division champions Shamrock Rovers lost 3-0 to Ludogorets in their Champions League qualifier.