Faroe Islands minnows KL Klaksvik will host Molde in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. In a thrilling penalty shootout, the hosts eliminated Swedish team Hacken to advance to this round. Their Norwegian rivals overcame a first-leg disadvantage to upset HJK Helsinki.
Preview (KL Klaksvik vs Molde)
This summer will mark the first time in the history of the little-known Faroe Islands that KI Klaksvik will play in the third round of Champions League qualifying. The island nation has just over 50,000 people. Shades of that result were there when Magne Hoseth’s team met Hacken in round two. The 20-time national champions upset Ferencvaros 3-0 on aggregate in round one. They were held to a scoreless home draw before exerting their dominance in Hungary. A 12-yard shootout would be necessary to decide the winner in Gothenburg after both teams played out a scoreless draw on their own ground. KI scored three goals more while away from home, but Hacken equaled them offensively.
After Mikkel Rygaard and Simon Sandberg flubbed their lines, veteran defender Vegard Forren maintained composure to keep KI’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League alive. As a result, KI is now guaranteed a spot in the Europa Conference League group stage at the very least. A feat no other team from their country has ever accomplished. Although their domestic rivals will be playing catch-up for some time, Hoseth’s team has been given a break from defending their Faroe Islands Premier League title in order to make waves in Europe. The defending champions opened their campaign with 16 wins from 16 games.
Molde had previously advanced to the Champions League group stage in the 1999–2000 season. They finished last in their Europa Conference League group last year. Their current European adventure was in danger of coming to an early end. They advanced despite losing 1-0 to HJK in their opening second-round match. Kristian Eriksen and Ola Brynhildsen’s goals in the closing 20 minutes helped Erling Moe’s team turn the tie around last week and go to round three.
Team News
KI defeated Hacken in a thrilling penalty shootout, but despite leading the competition with 14 goals, top scorer Pall Klettskard has yet to play a single minute of the qualifying competition due to an undisclosed problem. The hosts’ accomplishments are all the more impressive because of Klettskard’s protracted absence. The 33-year-old was back on the bench for the second leg of their tie with Hacken. He is now potentially eligible for a run-out on Tuesday. Despite his lack of match fitness may prevent him from playing more than a cameo.
Instead, Luc Kassi plans to keep his spot at the attack’s spearhead, and second-round hero Forren. He will take the field against the team for whom he made 369 appearances. Similar to Molde, who defeated HJK in the second leg without suffering any setbacks. Moe now finds himself in a difficult situation in the center of the field. Last Wednesday, the 28-year-old scored after just 15 minutes of playing time as a substitute. Neither Markus Andre Kaasa nor skipper Magnus Wolff Eikrem would believe that their positions are under any genuine threat.
While KI hasn’t yet figured out how to attack well at home in the Champions League, they have more than made up for it with rearguard toughness before bringing their finest shooting boots for the second leg. Due to Klettskard’s return to full fitness, Molde may consequently need to play smart at the Aker Stadion the following week, but even so, they should still score a few goals in Torshavn to undermine KI’s chances of qualifying for Europe.
KL Klaksvik 0 – 2 Molde
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