© EuroFootball.com
After the remaining matches of the first qualifying round of the Champions League, all teams that advanced to the second round were determined. In the tournament, only one of the two neighboring "Lithuanian" clubs remained - Latvian champion Liepaja "Metalurgs" advanced, while the strongest Estonian team Tallinn "TVMK" ended their performance.
In the first match, after Tomo Tamoshka's goal, coached by Benjamin Zelkevicius, "Metalurgs" needed to maintain their lead in the away match against "Aktobe" in Kazakhstan. The hosts missed several opportunities until Aleksei Nikolayev scored in the 17th minute, but in the 58th minute, the decisive goal from the penalty spot was scored by Denis Ivanov for the Latvian team.
T. Tamoshka, Vadimas Petrenko, and Mindaugas Kalonas played the entire match, Nerijus Astrauskas until the 59th minute, while Darius Miceika was not registered for the game. In the second round, "Metalurgs" will face Ukrainian vice-champion Kyiv "Dynamo".
Meanwhile, Tallinn "TVMK," after losing the first match 2-3 at home, started the match in Iceland against "Hafnarfjordur" by scoring a goal and reviving hopes when Viktoras Dobrecovas converted a penalty from the spot after Gintas Sirmelis fouled in the penalty area, but after Atli Gudnason scored on a counterattack, the match ended in a 1-1 draw, and the Estonian club was forced to withdraw from the competition. G. Sirmelis and Tomas Rimas played the entire match for "TVMK".
Torshavn "B36" achieved a historic victory, playing to a draw and thanks to a stunning victory in the first match against "Birkirkara," for the first time in Faroe Islands history, they managed to reach the second round of the tournament, where they will play against the much stronger Istanbul "Fenerbahce".
Edinburgh "Hearts" will face Bosnia and Herzegovina's "Siroki Brijeg" club in the second round, who eliminated Belarusian "Shakhtyor". Also advancing to the next round are Slovenian "Gorica", Irish "Cork City", and Finnish "MyPa". The matches of the second round, in which Lithuanian champions Panevezys "Ekranas" will face Zagreb "Dinamo" from Croatia, will start on July 25-26 and end on August 1-2.
Results of the first qualifying round on Wednesday
"Hafnarfjordur" 1 - 1 Tallinn "TVMK" (First match 3-2, total result 4-3)
"TNS" (Wales) 0 - 1 "MyPa" (Finland) (First match 0-1, total result 0-2)
"Aktobe" (Kazakhstan) 1 - 1 Liepaja "Metalurgs" (Latvia) (First match 0-1, total result 1-2)
Limasol "Apollon" (Cyprus) 1 - 1 "Cork City" (Ireland) (First match 0-1, total result 1-2)
Torshavn "B36" (Faroe Islands) 2 - 2 "Birkirkara" (Malta) (First match 3-0, total result 5-2)
Nova Gorica "Gorica" (Slovenia) 2 - 2 "Linfield" (Northern Ireland) (First match 3-1, total result 5-3)
"Siroki Brijeg" (Bosnia) 1 - 0 Soligorsk "Shakhtyor" (Belarus) (First match 1-0, total result 2-0)
Pairings of the second qualifying round
Nova Gorica "Gorica" (Slovenia) - Bucharest "Steaua" (Romania)
Sofia "Levski" (Bulgaria) - Bolnisi "Sioni" (Georgia)
"Zurich" (Switzerland) - Salzburg "Red Bull" (Austria)
"Djurgardens" (Sweden) - Ruzomberok "MFK" (Slovakia)
"Debrecen" (Hungary) - Skopje "Rabotnicki" (Macedonia)
"Cork City" (Ireland) - Belgrade "Crvena Zvezda" (Serbia)
Istanbul "Fenerbahce" (Turkey) - Torshavn "B36" (Faroe Islands)
"Mlada Boleslav" (Czech Republic) - Oslo "Valerenga" (Norway)
Tiraspol "Sheriff" (Moldova) - Moscow "Spartak" (Russia)
Liepaja "Metalurgs" (Latvia) - Kyiv "Dynamo" (Ukraine)
"Hafnarfjordur" (Iceland) - Warsaw "Legia" (Poland)
"Copenhagen" (Denmark) - "MyPa" (Finland)
Panevezys "Ekranas" (Lithuania) - Zagreb "Dinamo" (Croatia)
Edinburgh "Hearts (Scotland) - "Siroki Brijeg" (Bosnia and Herzegovina)"
