Derry delight as Sweden suffers

Swedish sides IFK Göteborg and Gefle IF were beaten at home by Derry City FC and Llanelli AFC respectively as uefa.com rounds up the action from northern Europe. One positive result for the Allsvenskan came as Pontus Karlsson's 16-minute hat-trick helped Åtvidabergs FF to a 4-0 win against FC Etzella Ettelbrück of Luxembourg.

IFK Göteborg 0-1 Derry City FC 
A 79th-minute header from Sean Hargan earned Derry a shock victory against former winners Göteborg in Sweden. The goal came after a spell of prolonged pressure from the determined visitors, which had also seen Killian Brennan crash an effort against the woodwork just before the hour mark. Göteborg went close through Stefan Selakovic and Marcus Berg in the first half, and besieged Derry's goalmouth in the closing stages but David Forde made two great late saves to seal a famous victory.

Gefle IF 1-2 Llanelli AFC
A late winner from Spanish substitute Jacob Mingorance gave the Welsh side a dream debut in European competition at Stockholm's famous Råsunda stadium. The midfielder slotted calmly in with his left foot after a winding run on 86 minutes. It completed a remarkable turnaround for Llanelli, who had trailed to Kristen Viikmäe's 20th-minute opening goal. Eight minutes remained when Rhys Griffiths beat Gefle goalkeeper Mattias Hugusson to a cross and sent his looping header into the net. With Gefle committed to pouring forward in search of a winner, Mingorance stung the Swedish side on the break.

Åtvidabergs FF 4-0 FC Etzella Ettelbrück
Pontus Karlsson dashed Etzella hopes with three goals between the 37th and 53rd minutes. The 22-year-old Sweden striker had scored a goal in each of his two previous Allsvenskan appearances and carried that good form into this European tie. Central defender Daniel Johansson had broken the deadlock in the tenth minute and once Karlsson got going there was no looking back for Åtvidaberg.

FC Levadia Tallinn 2-0 FC Haka
Two goals in four minutes from Ats Purje gave the Estonian league leaders a commanding lead to take into the return fixture against Haka. After a bright start, the hosts' pressure told when 17-year-old Russian striker Nikita Andreev sent Purje through with a fine pass that was matched by the winger's finish. Andreyev was again the creator in the 37th minute when he supplied Purje with another through-ball that allowed the 20-year-old to speed past his marker and double his tally. Despite the introduction of lively substitute Mikko Innanen, Haka were unable to reduce the arrears.

Glentoran FC 0-1 SK Brann
Injury-hit Glentoran have it all to do as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Norwegian side Brann at The Oval. Missing several players through a combination of injuries, suspension and holidays, the Northern Irish team suffered further loss when goalkeeper Elliott Morris suffered a hamstring injury on the hour. Eight minutes later his replacement, Ciaran McLaughlin, was beaten by Migen Memelli after good work from former Scottish international Charlie Miller. The visitors were reduced to ten men when Cameroonian Arnaud Monkam was dismissed in the last minute, ruling him out of the return.

Rhyl FC 0-0 FK Sūduva 
Welsh Premier League side Rhyl, bidding to match last season’s victory in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round, were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Sūduva at Belle Vue. The Lithuanian side had the better of the first half and carved out the only genuine chance when striker Otavio Augusto Brasa forced goalkeeper Paul Whitfield to tip round the post. The North Wales outfit fought back, however, and James Brewerton, Mark Connolly and centre-back George Horan all went close before substitute Chris Sharp, son of former Everton FC striker Graeme, shaved the far post with a header as Sūduva held on.

FK Ventspils 2-1 GÍ Gøta
Cameroonian defender Jean-Paul Ndeki was the unlikely hero as Ventspils earned a battling 2-1 victory against tenacious Faroese outfit GÍ. Ndeki rose to the occasion as the Latvian side’s regular scorers endured off-key evenings, spurning countless chances. He broke the deadlock with a powerful header midway through the half although Simun Louis Jacobsen soon levelled with a stunning long-range strike. But GÍ were never really able to cope with Ndeki’s aerial threat and the defender restored the lead midway through the second half.

Brøndby IF 3-1 Valur Reykjavík
Brøndby seemed to have one foot in the second qualifying round after racing into a three-goal lead against Valur in Denmark. Thomas Rasmussen gave the home side the best possible start when he opened the scoring after just eight minutes following good build-up play from Martin Ericsson. Defender Morten Rasmusen doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark and Ericsson soon made it three with a terrific team goal. Morten Rasmussen almost extended the advantage after half-time but was denied by the woodwork, and instead it was Valur who struck a late consolation through Gardar Gunnlaugsson to keep their hopes alive.

Portadown FC 1-3 FBK Kaunas
The Lithuanian league leaders struck early in each half to place themselves in the driving seat ahead of the return fixture in Kaunas. They silenced Shamrock Park with an early opening goal from Nukri Manchkhava and a quickfire second from Kestutis Ivaskevicius. The tie seemed to be done and dusted when Andrius Velička made it three a minute after the break, but Portadown pulled one back to keep themselves in with a slim chance when Gary McCutcheon headed in from an Allan Smart knockdown on 63 minutes.

HJK Helsinki 1-1 Drogheda United FC
Markus Halsti scored a late equaliser as HJK earned a share of the spoils in Finland but will travel to the Republic of Ireland in a fortnight knowing they must score to keep their hopes alive. That may be no easy task, however, after Drogheda kept them at bay for much of the first leg, after taking the lead four minutes before half-time when Shane Robinson rifled in from the edge of the box. HJK dominated thereafter but could not find a breakthrough, with Farid Ghazi failing from the penalty spot, a miss they looked likely to rue until Halsti's 83rd-minute strike.

AS Jeunesse Esch 0-2 Skonto FC
Latvian side Skonto took a significant step towards the second qualifying round with a 2-0 victory in Luxembourg. The visitors dominated proceedings but were forced to wait until three minutes after the restart before Jozef Piaček finally opened the scoring, heading in after a goalmouth scramble. That is how it remained until eleven minutes from time when Andrejs Štolcers, who had earlier seen an effort cleared off the goalline, doubled the advantage.

Randers FC 1-0 ÍA Akranes
Brazilian left-back Alex Da Silva scored a fine second-half header to hand Randers a narrow first-leg advantage but the Danish Cup holders could come to regret a host of missed opportunities. A majority of the 4,680 crowd rose to celebrate Alex's 62nd-minute strike as the home side, who will return to top-flight football this autumn, finally made their pressure count but ÍA remain in contention as the tie heads to Iceland.

FC Lyn Oslo 1-1 FC Flora
A late equaliser from Joel Lindpere ensured Flora will have the advantage when they welcome Lyn to Tallinn in a fortnight. The 24-year-old Estonia midfielder struck the all-important away goal when he found the net in the 82nd minute to cancel out veteran forward Jo Tessem's 44th-minute effort.

Skála Ítróttarfelag 0-1 IK Start
Norway midfielder Marius Johnsen's early goal was enough to hand Start victory in the Faroe Islands. The club have been struggling in the 2006 Tippeligaen but Johnsen's form has been a ray of hope. He has scored three times in his last six league games and did so again in the second minute with a header from Alex Valencia's corner. The match was Skála’s first European tie, other than one appearance in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, and they will need to score at least once in Kristiansand to have a chance of another.