David McMillan scored a precious away goal for Dundalk but the Lilywhites lost 2-1 to BATE Borisov in the first leg of their Champions League second round qualifying tie.

Stephen Kenny's men were rocked by a 10th-minute goal from Aleksandr Karnitski. A sloppy Shields mistake in midfield allowed BATE to surge forward and Vitali Rodionov and Aleksandr Karnitski exchanged passes on the edge of the box before the latter sent a shot past Gary Rogers.

McMillan, who missed a glorious chance earlier in the game, equalised after 33 minutes when he pounced on a stray ball before shooting through the goalkeeper's legs.

It was no more than Dundalk deserved but they suffered a cruel blow five minutes later when BATE edged back in front.

Rogers looked to have a comfortable save to make from Evgeni Yablonski's shot from the edge of the area but the ball clipped Chris Shields and wrong-footed the Lilywhites keeper.

Kenny's team rode their luck at times in the remainder of the contest. Rogers made two good saves while Igor Stasevich missed a decent chance to extend the host's lead, meaning there is all to play for at Oriel Park in next week's second leg.