Motherwell progressed handsomely into the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League with a 3-0 win in the Faroe Islands over Havnar Bóltfelag in the second leg, securing a 5-0 aggregate win.
Lukas Fadinger scored his second goal in the competition from the penalty spot before Regan Charles-Cook scored a second to extend the aggregate advantage to four. Dylan Williams popped up with a third on the night early in the second half with the Steelmen now looking forward to a third-round tie with Finnish side HJK Helsinki.
Although having a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, Alfred Johansson was well aware of the threat HB posed, especially with the Faroese side going undefeated at home in Europe for the last five seasons. That danger was apparent in the early stages, with the hosts launching dangerous corners and long throws into the Motherwell penalty area which were cleaned up by the defence line.
Having had little possession in the initial stages of the match, the Motherwell players gradually took more control of the game, and space opened up. Ibrahim Said clipped a lovely ball over the top of the HB defence, which Charles-Cook latched onto before outpacing the HB defence. The Grenadian drove towards goal but couldn’t beat Mørk with his shot as the Faroese side breathed a huge sigh of relief.
HB then had an opening when Sørensen was able to capitalise on a loose pass from Fadinger, but thankfully his effort was comfortable for Alex Paulsen.
24 minutes in, the game was level, but HB were dropping deeper. Willy Vogt, operating on the right-wing, squared up the full-back before jinking inside towards the penalty box; he cut across the defender, who clipped his heels, and as a result, the Estonian official pointed to the spot. Fadinger took the responsibility from 12 yards and made no mistake as he fired high into the net to extend Motherwell’s lead in the tie to three.
Nine minutes later, Charles-Cook once again found himself sprinting to get on the end of a through ball. The forward again couldn’t beat the keeper with his effort, but the pressure was mounting on HB as they tried to stay in the match.
Despite going close twice, Charles-Cook looked lively and kept working to get his reward. On 36 minutes, he picked up the ball on the left wing and showed his sharp acceleration to get past his marker. Driving towards the goal from the left-edge, he spotted a gap at the keeper’s near post where he expertly slotted home to finish the tie as a contest. 36 minutes gone, 2-0 to Motherwell.
As Motherwell looked certain to progress to the next round, Johansson’s side showed no signs of letting up and made it 3-0 on the night after 53 minutes. Said did well to maintain possession on the edge of the box; he lifted his head and saw Williams in an advanced position on the left-hand side. The full-back picked his spot and fizzed a low finish into the bottom corner and past the keeper to score his first goal for the club.
HB did have chances before the game was out, with Thomsen lashing over the bar and Hansen squandering a free header from a corner. Substitute Emmanuel Longelo almost found the back of the net with a knuckleball-style free kick from 30-yards, with the full back also hitting the side netting after bursting into the box.
Said should have added a fourth as Longelo’s cross found the Nigerian inside the box, but he couldn’t beat the keeper.
In the end, progression was secured as Motherwell won their first European away match inside 90 since a win over Icelandic side Breiðablik back in July 2010. Focus now turns to Sunday’s Premiership opener against Hibernian at Easter Road, before a trip to the Finnish capital next Thursday.
Motherwell Team: Paulsen, Sparrow, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Williams, Priestman, Fadinger, Booth, Charles-Cook, Said, Vogt.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, McConnell, Thomson, Wilson, Longelo, Ross, Whyte, McAllister, Weir, Maswanhise.
