HJK Helsinki advanced to the group stages of the Europa Conference League with a 2-0 second leg win over Romanian champions Farul Constanta on Thursday.
Two goals from Serbian striker Bojan Radulovic clinched the win as HJK overturned a 2-1 first leg defeat in front of a raucous home crowd in Töölö.
Radulovic thought he had scored after just 5 minutes, but the goal was ruled out for a foul.
He didn't have to wait too long to celebrate for real however, as he did open the scoring on 20 minutes when he slotted home after capitalising on an error by a Farul defender.
The goal that ultimately decided the tie arrived just 20 minutes from full time, with Radulovic finishing off a fine HJK move.
"We got what we came here for. I think we were in control of almost the entire game. We scored the goals and every player gave everything today," HJK midfielder and Finnish international Pyry Soiri told Yle after the game.
HJK's win means the most-decorated club in Finnish footballing history will now play in the group stages of a European competition for the fifth time, following previous appearances in the Champions League (1998-1999), the Europa League (2014-2015 and 2022-2023) and the Conference League (2021-2022).
Aside from the footballing aspect, reaching the group stages also means a financial windfall for the club, as HJK will receive 2.94 million euros from European governing body UEFA just for qualifying. A win in the group stages would also see HJK net 500,000 euros, while a draw would see the club collect 160,000 euros.
The draw for the group stages will be made on Friday afternoon.
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