Kilmarnock and St. Mirren equalise late in Conference League qualifying, Ajax edge closer to Europa League play-off
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Published 08/08/2024 at 23:43 GMT+1
It was a dramatic night for Scottish clubs in the UEFA Conference League as both Kilmarnock and St. Mirren came from behind and equalised late on against their Norwegian opponents, Tromso and Brann respectively. St Patrick's Athletic and Larne enjoyed 1-0 wins in their first-leg matches, while in the UEFA Europa League, Ajax beat Panathinaikos 1-0 and Shamrock Rovers lost by the same scoreline.
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Kilmarnock and St. Mirren both came from behind to draw against Norwegian opposition and leave their UEFA Conference League ties hanging in the balance.
Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock found themselves 2-1 down at home to Arctic Circle dwellers Tromso after Lasse Nordas’ effort in the 64th minute.
But Bobby Wales popped up in the second minute of stoppage time to score his first goal for the club and level the scores at 2-2 ahead of a tough trip to northern Norway.
“Being a Kilmarnock fan, it’s everything I could ever have dreamed of,” said Wales.“At times it was a tough game. It was quite ugly, but luckily I get the moment. If I could write a match, that’s how I’d want it to go.”
Kilmarnock now face a long journey to the most northern top-flight football club in the world for the second leg, with Tromso located 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
St. Mirren levelled late on against their Norwegian opponents, Brann.
Substitute Toyosi Olusanya equalised in the 90th minute to make it 1-1 after a less-than-perfect performance against the club from Bergen.
Goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe was in inspired form against a Brann onslaught and the visitors opened the scoring through Felix Myhre with 15 minutes remaining.
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In the UEFA Europa League, just one goal separated each of the other three ties involving British and Irish teams, with Shamrock Rovers falling to a 1-0 defeat away at Celje.
Sweden’s Malmo or Greek side PAOK await in the Europa League play-off for the winners, and the Slovenians took the advantage in the first half.
Luka Menalo tucked home a 34th-minute opener as Celje bid to reach a European group stage for the first time in their history.
Larne and St Patrick’s Athletic fared better in their third qualifying round contests in the Conference League, each coming away with a 1-0 victory.
In Kosovo, Matthew Lusty scored with a minute remaining as Larne beat Ballkani, while Romal Palmer was the hero for St Patrick’s at home to Sabah of Azerbaijan.
And Ajax took one step closer to the Europa league as they came away from the Olympic Stadium in Athens with a 1-0 win over Panathinaikos.
Steven Berghuis saw his effort deflect into the net midway through the first-half and Ajax clung on to emerge victorious from the rematch of the 1971 European Cup final.
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