Northern lights shine brightly

Northern Europe enjoyed a great night in the UEFA Champions League as teams from Iceland, Finland, the Republic of Ireland, the Faroe Islands and Latvia all reached the second qualifying round. uefa.com reviews Wednesday's seven matches.

FH Hafnarfjördur 1-1 FC TVMK Tallinn (agg: 4-3) 
Despite needing a high-scoring victory to overturn a 3-2 first-leg deficit, TMVK took a cautious approach into this away fixture. Indeed, it was the Icelandic champions who played with confidence and composure, before falling behind on the hour after a slip by goalkeeper Dadi Lárusson, who brought down Gintas Sirmelis for a penalty that Viktors Dobrecovs converted. The Estonian visitors still required another goal to go through and poured forward, but Hafnarfjördur hit them on the break when Tryggvi Gudmundsson split the defence with a precise pass for Atli Gudnason to score and guarantee a tie against Legia Warszawa.

The New Saints FC 0-1 Myllykosken Pallo-47 (agg: 0-2) 
MyPa struck early to make sure of a meeting with FC København in the next round. The Finnish title-holders added to their 1-0 first-leg lead in the sixth minute when Saku Puhakainen ran on to a long ball over the top and deftly lobbed onrushing goalkeeper Gerard Doherty. TNS now needed three to go through, but only tested MyPa's Janne Korhonen once in the first half through a Greg Stones half-volley. The Welsh champions had a chance to restore pride in added time, only for Steven Beck to send his spot-kick wide of the left-hand post.

FK Aktobe 1-1 FHK Liepajas Metalurgs (agg: 1-2)
The champions of Kazakhstan bowed out with a draw at home to Latvian opponents, and will rue a succession of missed opportunities that could have earned them a match against Ukrainian giants FC Dynamo Kyiv. Instead, Metalurgs advanced courtesy of a Deniss Ivanovs penalty two minutes before the hour. After Serghey Rogaciov and Konstantin Golovskiy fired shots across the Metalurgs box, Aleksei Nikolaev levelled the aggregate scores with a 17th-minute header. But as Aktobe pushed forward, the visitors registered against the run of play, Ivanovs's spot-kick leaving the hosts requiring two goals to qualify.

Apollon Limassol FC 1-1 Cork City FC (agg: 1-2)
Dan Murray hit the vital goal that took Cork into the second qualifying round. One-nil up from the first leg, the Irish champions had goalkeeper Michael Devine to thank for retaining their advantage as the home side forced the pace in Cyprus. They did eventually get the ball past Devine, Lukasz Sosin netting with a cool finish five minutes into the second half, but Murray's header from a Neale Fenn corner on 74 minutes was enough to earn Cork an encounter with FK Crvena Zvezda.

B36 Tórshavn 2-2 Birkirkara FC (agg: 5-2) 
B36 made history as the first Faroese team to reach the second qualifying round - where they will face Turkish giants Fenerbahçe SK - after maintaining their three-goal cushion from the first leg. On a foggy night in Torshavn it was the hosts who grabbed the initiative thanks to Klæmint Matras's header on the stroke of half-time. Birkirkara equalised through George Mallia, but Nigerian substitute Obi Onyebuchi restored the home lead. Kenneth Scicluna made it 2-2 eight minutes from the end, and there was still time for both sides to have a player sent off.

NK Gorica 2-2 Linfield FC (agg: 5-3)
The Slovenian title-holders booked a date with last season's UEFA Cup semi-finalists FC Steaua Bucuresti. Three-one winners last week, Gorica were favourites going into the return at Športni Park but got an early scare when Peter Thompson put the visitors ahead from close range on 28 minutes. Miran Burgič settled any nerves two minutes later with a header and after Mark Dickson missed a penalty for Linfield, Burgič nodded Gorica in front on the night. The champions of Northern Ireland did manage a last-minute goal from substitute Paul McAreavey, but it was purely consolation.

NK Široki Brijeg 1-0 FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (agg: 2-0)
Široki secured a second-round game against Heart of Midlothian FC thanks to a second 1-0 win against Belarus's finest. The home team looked to have the measure of their opponents, and were never in danger once Anatoli Budaye pulled down Mislav Karoglan for a penalty on 29 minutes. Budaye saw red and Ronielle Gomes tucked away the spot-kick. Shakhtyor's best chance fell to Sergei Nikiforenko in the second half, but he could not convert. "We have strong rival waiting for us, but we won't give up easily," said Široki coach Ivica Barbarić.