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Timely St Patrick's seal first round berth

Northern round-up: Saint Patrick's Athletic FC left it late to reach the UEFA Cup first round for only the second time in their history while Finland's FC Honka Espoo came from behind to emerge victorious in Norway against Viking FK.

Jason Gavin celebrates his goal for St Patrick's
Jason Gavin celebrates his goal for St Patrick's ©Sportsfile

Saint Patrick's Athletic FC left it late to reach the UEFA Cup first round for only the second time in their history by scoring twice inside the last four minute against Sweden's IF Elfsborg. The biggest winners of the night in the Northern section were seasoned European campaigners Rosenborg BK, who eased past another Swedish club, Djurgårdens IF FF, while FC Honka Espoo came from behind to win in Norway.

Aston Villa FC 1-1 FH Hafnarfjördur (agg:5-2)
Former European Champions Clubs' Cup holders Villa comfortably progressed to Friday's draw despite being held at home. The English Premier League outfit took the lead on 27 minutes when Craig Gardner found the net with a fierce strike from inside the penalty area. However, Icelandic visitors FH restored parity on the night when Atli Bjornsson fired in at the near post.

Rosenborg BK 5-0 Djurgårdens IF FF (agg: 6-2)
Steffen Iversen scored a hat-trick as Rosenborg swept aside their fellow Scandinavians. Iversen opened the scoring with a header two minutes before the break, and turned provider 20 minutes into the second half by teeing up Didier Konan Ya. Iversen then completed his haul with two penalties either side of Per Ciljan Skjelbred's strike.

Kalmar FF 4-0 KAA Gent (agg: 5-2)
The Allsvenskan leaders cruised through after a comprehensive home win over their Belgian opponents with the help of a Patrik Ingelsten hat-trick. Having lost the first leg 2-1, Kalmar knew that a solitary goal would be enough to progress and after just four minutes, Marko Šuler put the ball through his own net to give the hosts an ideal start. Gent pushed on and Ingelsten took advantage making it 2-0 nine minutes after the break. The away side poured forward but could not find a way back and Ingelsten scored twice in the last five minutes to complete his treble. The striker said: "We were really strong tonight and up for the challenge. Now we are really looking forward to the draw."

Viking FK 1-2 FC Honka Espoo (agg: 1-2)
Honka came from behind to surprise their Norwegian opponents and progress to the first round. Viking opened the scoring after seven minutes when Allan Gaarde headed home from close range. Honka had rarely threatened yet they drew level 12 minutes later when Rami Hakanpää rose to head in a cross from the right. Viking pressed for the winner but were undone at the other end as Jaakko Lepola found the top corner ten minutes into the second half. The hosts then had two Peter Ijeh efforts ruled out for offside as well as striking the woodwork three times.

Brøndby IF 2-0 FC Haka (agg: 6-0)
Brøndby completed a comprehensive aggregate victory over Finnish outfit Haka to cruise into the first round. Already four goals up from the first encounter two weeks previous, the Danish club showed no sign of letting up in front of over 5,000 supporters at the Brøndby Stadion as they dominated from the off. Striker Peter Madsen opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, benefiting from a mistake in the Haka defence, and eleven minutes later, Swedish midfielder Samuel Holmén extended the lead by firing low into the far corner. No further goals followed as Brøndby eased off after the break, allowing the visitors to test goalkeeper Stephan Andersen on more than one occasion.

Lillestrøm SK 2-4 FC København (agg: 3-7)
Two goals inside the opening 24 minutes laid the platform København's progression in Norway. Cesar Santin and Ailton Almeida put the visitors in front before Olivier Occean reduced the arrears after 29 minutes. Lillestrøm then drew level on the night, if not the tie, when Simen Brenne equalised 14 minutes from time. However, København responded through strikes by Atiba Hutchinson and José Junior in the closing stages to seal victory.

Saint Patrick's Athletic FC 2-1 IF Elfsborg (agg:4-3)
Two goals in the last five minutes earned Dublin club Saint Patrick's the biggest success in their European history. St Patrick's had two valuable away goals from the first leg, a 2-2 draw in Sweden, so they knew they merely had to keep Elfsborg – second in the Allsvenskan – at bay to progress. However, that plan fell apart when Stefan Ishizaki struck after 63 minutes to give the visitors the advantage. The hosts kept pushing and Jason Gavin headed in Keith Fahey's corner kick four minutes from time to level the aggregate score and just to make sure, Mark Quigley latched on to a long ball from substitute Derek O'Brien and rounded goalkeeper Johan Wiland to score into an empty net.

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